Rasna plans foray into ready-to-drink market

NEW DELHI: Soft drink concentrate maker Rasna said on Sunday it is foraying into the ready-to-drink market through the vending machines franchisee route and plans to install about 10,000 machines at various joints in the country in the current year.
"We would be installing about 10,000 machines at different joints such as railway stations, petrol pumps, schools and super markets to step up the outside-the-house consumption of the drink," Rasna chairman and managing director Piruz Khambatta said.
He said the company would invest about Rs 15 crore in the venture and the cost of a single machine, which is about Rs 30,000, would be shared equally by Rasna and the franchisee holder.
Even at the modest sales projection of 100 glasses per installation per day, Rasna was looking at sales of about 36 crore glasses per annum, he said, adding the company has already tied up with franchisees in Gujarat and Maharashtra and was in talks with various parties in other regions.
The digital machines would dispense two hot beverages — tea and coffee — and two flavours of Rasna’s recently launched Juc-Up range.
Rasna was also planning a major foray into the rural market through its 50 paise per glass drink.
"There is a vast untapped market out there and we want to expand to that segment as well," Khambatta said.
The company would run about 3,000 vans on different routes in the country to popularise the drink in rural areas, he said. The company was also expecting a 100 per cent growth in exports this fiscal, he said.