Sep 30: Reliance Enters Bottled Water Market, Carlsberg Brews Big Bets

In a plot twist that may feature in the next Abbas-Mustan movie, the Asia Cup 2025 trophy has reportedly been kidnapped. After India’s routine final victory over Pak, the team refused to accept silverware from ACC President and Pak Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The dude got pissed and apparently hauled the trophy all the way back to his Dubai hotel room. While PCB is mum, we're wondering if he's just borrowing it for a selfie or if this is the most audacious heist since Race 2 (also Abbas-Mustan btw). Bro Naqvi, your team actually needs to win matches for those. Kindly send this way.

Now, let’s get into the Dispatch! 🚀

Today’s reading time is 7 mins.

The Indian market ended in negative territory on Monday, marking a seventh consecutive session of losses. The fall was largely attributed to US President Donald Trump’s new H-1B visa fees and tariffs on pharma imports.

India’s New Thirst-Quencher: Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL), the FMCG arm of Reliance Industries, has entered the packaged drinking water market with the launch of “SURE” mineral water under its revived Campa beverage umbrella. Priced starting at ₹5 for a 250ml bottle, the brand positions itself as an affordable, high-quality alternative to established players like Bisleri, Aquafina, and Kinley. The launch coincides with the inauguration of a state-of-the-art plant in Guwahati, Assam, emphasizing purity, mineral enrichment, and regional accessibility, while signalling Reliance’s ambitious push beyond soft drinks into everyday essentials.

A Market Thirsty for Disruption: India’s packaged water market valued around ₹24,000 - ₹30,000 crore and growing at 15% annually, remains fragmented yet dominated by incumbents. Bisleri controls around 32–36% of the organized segment, followed by Kinley and Aquafina. With rising health awareness, water scarcity, and stricter FSSAI compliance designating packaged water as “high-risk food,” consumers are increasingly discerning, while smaller players face higher operational costs. Enter Reliance, whose disruption-first playbook mirrors the approach of Jio in telecom and Campa Cola in soft drinks - pricing Campa Sure and Independence water 20–43% below competitors. With this the conglomerate aims to capture price-sensitive urban and semi-urban consumers without compromising on quality.

Dual-Brand Strategy: Reliance’s water venture employs a two-pronged brand strategy. Campa Sure, part of the beverage portfolio, is aimed at both beverage-focused stores and general retail outlets, while Independence extends the offering across food-focused channels. With Campa Cola already achieving a 10–14% market share in soft drinks, this dual approach allows Reliance to negotiate larger shelf space and expand nationwide reach. Distribution is key. Campa leverages Reliance Retail’s 18,000+ stores, JioMart, and kirana networks, enabling the brand to reach 3,00,000 retail outlets within two years, an achievement rare in the FMCG sector. Regional focus begins with Assam and the Northeast, but national rollout is imminent, reinforcing Reliance’s ambition to capture 5–10% of the market by FY26.

Old Guard vs New Challenger: Bisleri boasts a massive network of over 5,000 distribution points, 122 plants, and six million retail outlets, while Kinley and Aquafina rely on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo’s deep supply chains. Yet, analysts anticipate that Reliance’s pricing, logistics, and retail muscle could gradually erode the incumbents’ dominance. The entry of a conglomerate with unmatched scale is expected to re-engineer the competitive equilibrium, forcing rivals to rethink shelf allocation, brand innovation, and loyalty-building strategies.

What This Means For Consumers: For the end consumer, the arrival of Campa Sure and Independence promises better affordability without compromise on quality. For the industry, it’s a wake-up call - the new FMCG battleground is high-volume, high-margin staples and the battle will be won through market reach, pricing disruption and brand recall.

Brewing Ambitions: Carlsberg India has inked a memorandum of understanding with India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries to invest ₹1,250 crore over the next three years, aiming to expand its manufacturing footprint across key states in one of the world’s fastest-growing beer markets. The investment includes ₹500 crore for a new greenfield brewery in Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra, ₹400 crore for brownfield expansion at its Hooghly, West Bengal facility and ₹350 crore for ongoing expansion in Mysuru, Karnataka.

Unlocking Value: Carlsberg India says the expansions will benefit customers, suppliers, and logistics partners, creating an incremental procurement of ₹600 crore in raw and packaging materials over three years. Key sectors impacted include malt, glass, cans, cardboard, and transport, illustrating the ripple effect across India’s food and beverage ecosystem.

India’s Beer Market: India’s beer market is expected to reach ₹802.5 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2025 to 2033. Urban centres remain the primary consumers, but rural and semi-urban areas are emerging as new growth frontiers. With around 800 million people of legal drinking age and 20 million entering the segment each year, the potential is significant, despite state-specific alcohol regulations and advertising restrictions.

Competition Remains Fierce: United Breweries and AB InBev dominate, while homegrown players like Bira 91 and Medusa are carving out niche segments. Millennials are increasingly driving demand for premium and craft beers, pushing brewers to innovate in flavors, packaging, and distribution.

Carlsberg India: The Danish brewer, headquartered in Copenhagen, entered India in 2007 and has built a robust brand portfolio including Carlsberg Green, Carlsberg Elephant, Tuborg Green, Tuborg Strong, and Tuborg Classic. Media reports suggest Carlsberg India is exploring a potential IPO, backed by a strong FY24 performance.

India-Bhutan Rail Link:  India and Bhutan will establish their first-ever rail link, a project valued at ₹4,033 crore. The 90-km railway network will be fully funded by India, providing Bhutan with access to the country's vast railway system and boosting trade between the two nations. This project stems from an agreement made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bhutan in March 2024. 

Semiconductor Chip JVs: US-based UST and India's Kaynes Semicon have formed a joint venture to establish a ₹3,330 crore semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility in Gujarat. The partnership, which will leverage UST's global client base and expertise in digital engineering and AI, is a significant step towards India's ambition to become a global hub for semiconductors, particularly for the electronics, EV, and renewable energy sectors.

Qualcomm Chip Packaging Strategy For India: Qualcomm is in talks to start chip packaging in India, as the company seeks to diversify beyond smartphones. This move is part of a broader strategy to expand its R&D centres and invest in Indian startups, leveraging the country's talent pool, growing tech ecosystem and is open to collaborating with new fab players in India, while continuing to work with the Tata Group. 

Shipbuilding Boost with Samsung : South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is partnering with India's Swan Defence and Heavy Industries (SDHI) to boost India's shipbuilding sector. The collaboration will leverage SHI's technological expertise and SDHI's market presence to help India achieve its goal of becoming one of the top five shipbuilding nations globally by 2047. The partnership aims to build up to 1,000 new commercial vessels within a decade and is supported by a new $3 billion Maritime Development Fund.

India-EFTA Trade Deal: India's first trade pact with a European bloc, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), takes effect on October 1. The agreement will see India reduce tariffs on 80-85% of goods, while EFTA will give Indian exporters duty-free access to 99% of its products. EFTA has pledged to invest $100 billion over 15 years, aiming to create one million jobs in India. This pact marks a strategic shift towards investment-linked trade.

Myntra’s Profit Turnaround: Walmart-owned Flipkart has successfully narrowed losses across most of its group companies in fiscal year 2025. The core marketplace, Flipkart Internet, saw losses decrease by 37% to ₹1,494 crore, despite a 14% rise in revenue. The biggest success story was its fashion arm, Myntra, which saw its net profit surge to ₹548 crore from just ₹31 crore a year ago. The results come as the company prepares for a potential IPO in 2026.

Seafood Market Shifts Customer Base: Indian seafood exporters are diversifying their markets in response to new US tariffs. With a 59.71% effective duty on products like shrimp, exporters are now targeting the EU, China, and the Middle East. This strategic pivot follows a year where India's total seafood exports were valued at $7.45 billion, with the US accounting for 40% of its shrimp exports. The government is also assisting with compliance requirements to facilitate this transition.