Beverage concocting maestros Rahul and Rajiv Sangoi of Rio Innobev explore why the colas of yesteryear hold no appeal for gen next, and how new-age beverages are replacing them rapidly. The beverage landscape in India is undergoing a fascinating transformation, with a notable shift toward “better for you” options. In this dynamic landscape, a few challenger brands are not just competing; they’re redefining what it means to enjoy a fizzy drink. These challenger brands are reshaping the future of India’s beverage culture by offering unique and health conscious choices.
”Today’s consumers are experimenting a lot with new flavours. For example we launched our Acai Vibe flavour after a college student suggested it during a college event that we were sponsoring. A few years ago, we hadn’t even thought that acai could be a leading flavour when it came to Rio Innobev’s offerings!” says Rahul Sangoi. With variety comes innovation. “Gen-Z and the next generation are clearly all about innovative flavouring — you see it in everything from the experimentative reels with food favourites like maggi, coffee and orange juice to styling and accessorising to music, herbal teas, craft sodas and
everything in between,” he adds. With the increasing urbanisation and exposure to global influences, consumers in India are becoming more adventurous in their beverage choices seeking out novel flavours and innovative concoctions, something that Rio Innobev has always been conscious of from the get-go – in fact, the Sangoi brothers started the brand to explore their love for various flavours when it comes to beverages.
Another massive factor that is influencing the market, according to Rahul, is health-conscious consumers. “Drinks that offer specific benefits beyond mere refreshment with
ingredients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and herbal extracts are incorporated to enhance well-being, “ he adds. “The war against excessive sugar intake has led to a surge
in demand for beverages with reduced sugar content. Brands are exploring natural sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol to maintain sweetness without the
calorie load — take Rio for instance, we are working on low sugar and no sugar versions that keeps us ahead of the curve.”
“When it comes to new flavours and exotic ingredients, Rio is delivering a power-packed combination of fruit juice, honey, vitamin C and exotic flavour blends to give the consumers a very new flavourful experience — flavours such as wild berry, pink guava, acai berry, blueberry peach, green mango and lemon mojito have really clicked well
with young consumers.
According to the Sangoi brothers, absolutely nothing can out-run the competition if you don’t have great branding and content. “To create a presence on social media, your
branding has to be on-point. When this epiphany hit us, we went ballistic with our artwork for branding – we brought together a bunch of graffiti artists from India and different
countries and got them to create niche branding that was vibrant, peppy and visually appealing, just like our drinks,” says Rahul. In fact, after 5 years of studying the millenial
and Gen-Z graph, here’s what the Sangoi brothers have observed when it comes to branding in general: Gen Z consumers exhibit a strong desire for differentiation. They
actively seek out brands that resonate with their own preferences and values. They don’t want to be seen with the brands that their parents have been consuming. These
young consumers are not emotionally connected to incumbent brands that have been around for decades.
“We’re using this information shared by our consumers,” shares Rajiv. “It’s why Rio has become a favourite amongst the youth in cities across Maharashtra, south Gujarat and Goa. Today RIO is available across 35000 retail outlets in the above geographies and the company is slowly increasing its geographical footprint,” he shares. As the company’s popularity grows, so does its desire to bring new flavours into the market along with a massive growth expansion plan: one of these was signing on with Gruhas Gusto, a 6-month accelerator program by Gruhas, Jubilant Bhartia Family Office, Sabre Ventures (DLF Family Office), and Anthill Ventures. “ This was a strategic move aimed at advancing our mission and helping us scale with speed through collaboration with like-minded individuals
and businesses dedicated to promoting healthy living,” shares Rahul. “Moving ahead, we’re also going to be experimenting with low-calorie beverages, BCAA-infused energy beverages and protein-based beverages,” he concludes, effectively signing off on the future and the potential of the Indian beverage market.
