Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) will acquire a 50% stake in the Gujarat-headquartered 100-year-old Sosyo Hajoori Beverages, which owns brands such as Sosyo, Kashmira, Lemee, Ginlim, Runner, Opener, Hajoori Soda, and S’eau.
Reliance Consumer, the FMCG arm of Reliance Retail Ventures, will set up a joint venture in this regard with Sosyo, which was established in 1923 by Abbas Abdulrahim Hajoor as a swadeshi brand.
Sosyo, which makes carbonated soft drinks (CSD) and juices and is popular in Gujarat, is now led by Abbas Hajoori and his son Aliasgar Hajooriw, who will own the remaining stake.
The JV expected to Sosyo grow its brands by leveraging Reliance’s network and help RCPL to enhance its beverage portfolio. In August, Reliance Retail Ventures had acquired soft drink brand Campa.
“We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Reliance Consumer Products, a strong and willing partner that can help Sosyo rapidly scale up its reach. Combining our relative strengths, we would make the unique tasting beverage products of Sosyo accessible to all the consumers in India,” Abbas Hajoori said in a press statement.
The investment in Sosyo “helps us take forward our vision of empowering local heritage brands and presenting them with new growth opportunities”, Reliance Retail Ventures executive director Isha Ambani was quoted as saying in media reports.
