There is no one to handle the business, that’s why Bisleri is being sold: Tata Group will buy for 7000 crores; Thums Up, Limca was also made by Ramesh Chauhan
Nearly three decades after selling soft drink brands Thums Up, Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola, Ramesh Chauhan is set to sell Bisleri International to Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL). This deal is being done for Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. Economic Times has published a report regarding this.
No successor to expand business : Under the deal, the current management will continue for two years. Chauhan, 82, has been in poor health in recent times and says he does not have a successor to take Bisleri to the next level of expansion. Chauhan said, daughter Jayanti is not much interested in business. Bisleri is the largest packaged water company in India.
Tata group will increase business in a better way : Chouhan said that Tata Group will take care of it in a better way and take it forward. However, selling Bisleri was still a painful decision. I like Tata culture and hence chose Tata despite other buyers. There are said to be several contenders to buy Bisleri, including Reliance Retail, Nestle and Danone.
Chauhan will invest money in charity : Chouhan said that he would not even hold a minority stake in Bisleri. He said that after selling the business, he does not see any reason to hold a minority stake in the company. At the same time, he said that after exiting the bottled water business, he wants to focus on environmental and charity work like water harvesting, plastic recycling.
Estimated profit of 220 crores in FY23 : Chouhan said the turnover of the Bisleri brand for FY23 is estimated at Rs 2,500 crore with a profit of Rs 220 crore. In the year ending March 2021, the company registered sales of Rs 1,181.7 crore and a profit of Rs 95 crore. At the same time, in the financial year ending March 2020, the company’s revenue was Rs 1,472 crore and registered a profit of Rs 100 crore.
Started selling mineral water at the age of 27 : Ramesh Chauhan, who popularized the mineral water brand ‘Bisleri’ in India, was born on June 17, 1940 to Jayantilal and Jaya Chauhan in Mumbai. His friends fondly call him RJC. He has done Mechanical Engineering and Business Management. Always known to be ahead of his time, Chauhan introduced bottled mineral water to the Indian market at the age of 27.
Parle Exports bought Bisleri from an Italian businessman in 1969 and started selling mineral water in India. In a career spanning over 50 years, Chauhan made Bisleri India’s top mineral water brand. Chauhan has also created Vedika, a premium natural mineral water brand. Apart from this, Chauhan is also the creator of many brands like Thumsup, Gold Spot, Citra, Maaza and Limca.
Jayanti Abhi Vice Chairperson in the company
Ramesh Chauhan’s daughter Jayanti is currently the vice-chairperson of the company. After completing high school, she joined the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles to study product development. She then learned fashion styling at the Istituto Marangoni Milano. She has also learned fashion styling and photography from the London College of Fashion.
