The World in Soda

Thums Up

While it has a similar taste to Coca-Cola, the leader of the soda market in India is a native brand of cola called Thums Up. It was introduced in 1977 after Coca-Cola pulled out of India in order to replace everyone’s favorite drink. In 1991, India reopened their market to multinational corporations, and Pepsi attempted to give Thums Up a run for their money. Two years later, Coca-Cola re-entered the Indian marketplace, and the Parle corporation, who owned the Thums Up brand, sold their company to Coca-Cola for $60 million. They changed some minor cosmetic aspects of their marketing campaign, but kept the recipe the same.

#ThumsUp has turned 40 and is still the number one cola in India. Here’s why. pic.twitter.com/JpGaAlWnmT

— scroll.in (@scroll_in) July 22, 2018