Beverages and snack major PepsiCo has decided to tweak its flagship juice brand Tropicana, and has brought to the Indian table a powder variant. The new offering is the first-ever for Tropicana worldwide, and aims to build on the strong equity of the brand in India.

Inspired by the traditional technique of drying and preserving, PepsiCo’s research and development team in India has enabled the conversion of fruit juices into a powder format. The new product will compete against Rasna and global rival Cadbury-Kraft (Mondelez India) which sells Tang.

“We started this journey more than two years ago, even as we were looking to increase the access of juice-based products in the market. We looked at penetration and the existence of a powder category with real fruit juice, and decided to leverage Tropicana’s global fruit expertise,” said Homi Battiwalla, Senior Director, Marketing, PepsiCo India.

Speaking to Business Line , he added, “Being a market leader in the juice category, we looked at dilutables. It was simply marrying the two products.”

Available in three flavours, Mixed Fruit (containing juice of seven fruits), Juicy Orange and Refreshing Lemon, the fruit powders will be available in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore initially. Priced at Rs 10, the powders are available in single-serve sachets.

The company aims to drive accessibility and recruit more consumers into the packaged juice category. “It is all about the goodness of juice, without the preservatives and artificial flavours. Research showed that the juice landscape is just cartons” added Battiwalla.

As for competition, he said, “Of course there is competition. We know we have the credibility and strength of the brand and we will leverage it to the hilt.”

amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in

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