Bisleri withdraws Urzza, exits energy drinks segment

Bisleri International has withdrawn its Urzza brand from the ₹200-crore energy drinks segment.

Almost three years after it launched Urzza, Bisleri is no longer riding its energy drink on its extensive packaged water distribution network.

“We did not get the product positioning and marketing right for Urzza and are no longer focusing on the energy drinks category,’’ said Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman, Bisleri International.

The name Urzaa (derived from the Hindi word Urja, meaning energy) was introduced after extensive research and positioned as a ‘liquid charger’ in 2014.

“While there are several reasons as to why we had to withdraw Urzza, one of the main reasons was that we were trying too hard to copy Red Bull, the market leader in energy drinks. This did not bode well for the product,’’ admitted Chauhan.

The imported brand of Red Bull has always been a leader in the category despite the entry of several Indian brands and has maintained a premium pricing and positioning.

Addressing upwardly mobile consumers with its pet bottles and cans, Urzza was expected to contribute 10 per cent of Bisleri’s ₹1,000-crore turnover. It was being sold through the water major’s distribution network to reach out to 2 lakh outlets. There were also plans to extend distribution by another 20 per cent to make sure Urzza reached its upmarket consumers with a pan-India presence.

Unlike most energy drinks, Urzza did not contain caffeine and was also devoid of stimulants like guarana and taurine and instead had vitamins.

Considering that FSSAI had hauled up several energy drink brands for the use of certain ingredients, Chauhan had played it safe while entering the category with Urzza and positioned it as a `liquid charger’ instead of an energy drink.

However, now Bisleri intends to focus on its carbonated drinks portfolio where it has been competing with big MNCs.

In fact soon after it entered the energy drinks category with Urzaa in 2014, Bisleri took up the challenge to enter the carbonated drinks segment with its own brand of Bisleri Pop in 2016.

Chauhan had sold his carbonated beverage portfolio to Coca-Cola in the past with icononic brands like Thums Up and Maaza.

Having included the mandatory 2 per cent fruit pulp in its range of drinks, it is gearing up to invest heavily in this challenging category. “Having exited the energy drink category, our focus in future is going to be on the carbonated drinks segment where we will get significant GST benefits,’’ he added.

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