Reliance Bets on Herbal Beverage Segment, Acquires Controlling Stake in Naturedge Beverages

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries’s FMCG arm, Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL), made its debut in the herbal beverage category on Monday. RCPL has entered the segment by acquiring a majority stake in Baidyanath Group-owned Naturedge Beverages. Reliance, via its joint venture, aims to focus on offering consumers a wide range of natural herbal beverages. 

The strategic move by RIL is due to expanding opportunities in the healthy functional beverage space driven mainly by a strong consumer shift towards healthier and natural alternatives, the company added. 

“We are pleased to announce this JV as it strengthens our beverage portfolio with the addition of health-focused functional drinks, inspired by Ayurveda,” said Executive Director, Reliance Consumer Products, Ketan Mody, according to the statement. “It also fits perfectly with RCPL’s vision of global providing quality products at affordable prices along with promoting India’s legacy,” Mody added.

Naturedge Beverages, which was founded in 2018, offers functional packaged drinks under the brand “Shunya”.  The beverages contain zero sugar and zero calories. Additionally, it contains Indian herbs like Ashwagandha, Brahmi, Khus, Kokum, and green tea. 

“The partnership with RCPL is a testament of Shunya’s rapidly growing acceptability among consumers. With our visions aligned on turning Shunya into a pan-India brand that caters to consumers love for herbal-natural functional beverages that are refreshing and fun-filled at the same time, this is a win-win for us,” said director, Naturedge Beverages, Siddhesh Sharma. 

The development marks Reliance’s fourth acquisition after Campa, Sosyo, and RasKik in the beverage category. This is part of the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate’s expansion spree across consumer product categories, including drinks, confectionery and chocolates, to strengthen its hold in the FMCG category. 

This comes around a time when India’s health drink market is projected to grow at 11.81% CAGR from $9.63bn in 2024 to $28.45bn in 2033, according to a market research firm IMARC report. The growth is fueled mainly by increasing health awareness among Indians.