Bisleri facts for kids
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Formerly
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Parle Exports Pvt. Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| Industry | Beverages |
| Predecessor | Parle Group |
| Founded | 1970s |
| Founder | Ramesh Chauhan |
| Headquarters |
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India
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Ramesh Chauhan (Chairman) Zainab Chauhan (Director) Jayanti Chauhan (Director) Angelo George (CEO) |
| Products | Mineral water Carbonated drinks |
| Brands |
|
| Revenue |  ₹2,300 crore (US$390 million) (FY23) |
| ₹200 crore (US$34 million) (FY23) |
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Bisleri International is a big Indian company. It's famous for its bottled water, also called Bisleri. The company started in the 1970s by Ramesh Chauhan. They sell bottled water and other soft drinks.
Most of Bisleri's business is in India. They have 150 factories and a huge network of 6,000 sellers and 7,500 trucks to deliver their products. You can also buy Bisleri online from their website or other stores.
Contents
The Story of Bisleri
How Bisleri Started
The Bisleri bottled water brand began in India in 1965. An Italian doctor named Cesari Rossi and an Indian businessman named Khushroo Suntook opened a factory in Thane. The name "Bisleri" came from an Italian drink made in the 1800s by an inventor named Felice Bisleri.
At first, Bisleri water was only sold in fancy hotels and restaurants in Mumbai. It came in glass bottles and had two types: bubbly (fizzy) and still (flat). In 1969, the Parle Group, owned by the Jayantilal Chauhan family, bought the Bisleri brand. Bisleri was struggling and wanted to leave the Indian market. Parle Group bought it for about 4 lakh Indian Rupees (which was around $50,000 back then).
Early Years of the Company
In the 1970s, Jayantilal Chauhan divided his soft drinks business between his two sons. Prakash Chauhan took over Parle Agro, while Ramesh Chauhan got Parle Exports. Parle Exports later became Bisleri International.
In 1976, Parle Exports launched Maaza, a popular fruit drink made from mangoes. After The Coca-Cola Company left India in 1977, Parle Exports started making carbonated (fizzy) drinks. They launched a cola drink called Thums Up, a lemon drink called Limca, and an orange drink called Gold Spot.
To go along with their soft drinks, Parle Exports also started selling mineral water and carbonated water in stores. They used the Bisleri brand name they had bought earlier. Ramesh Chauhan said the Italian name "added a dash of class" to the water. The water was first sold in PVC plastic bottles. Later, in the mid-1980s, the company switched to PET plastic bottles, which are more common today.
Selling Off Brands
In 1991, India's economy became more open to international businesses. This meant The Coca-Cola Company returned to India. In 1993, Parle Exports sold its carbonated drink brands—Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot, Citra, and RimZim—to The Coca-Cola Company. This deal was worth between 125 crore and 200 crore Indian Rupees (about $40 million to $60 million). They also sold the Maaza brand name in India to Coca-Cola. As part of the deal, Parle Exports agreed not to make competing carbonated drinks until 2008.
In 1998, Ramesh Chauhan sold Delhi Bottling Company and Coolaid to The Coca-Cola Company. These were the companies that bottled the five carbonated drink brands.
In 2000, Ramesh Chauhan decided to bring all the different parts of Bisleri under one company. Before this, eight different companies were running Bisleri from 16 factories. So, in 2001, Bisleri International was officially created as a single company.
In 2006, the company sold the Maaza brand name in Europe and the US to other companies.
Bisleri Today
In 2010, Bisleri launched a special bottled water brand called Vedica. This water comes from a spring in the Himalayan mountains in Uttarakhand. In 2016, Bisleri started making carbonated drinks again with "Bisleri Pop." They launched four types of soft drinks: Limonata, Fonzo, Spyci, and Pina Colada.
In 2021, Bisleri also started selling hand sanitizer products.
Sports Partnerships
Bisleri has teamed up with five teams in the Indian Super League (ISL), which is a big football league in India. Bisleri is the "official hydration partner" for these teams, meaning they provide water to the players. The teams are Mumbai City FC, Bengaluru FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Chennaiyin FC, and FC Goa.
What Makes Bisleri Special
Bisleri is a leader in the bottled water market, holding about 32% of the share. It competes with other well-known brands like PepsiCo's Aquafina, The Coca-Cola Company's Kinley, Parle Agro's Bailley, and IRCTC's Rail Neer.
In India, the name "Bisleri" is often used to mean any bottled water, even if it's not actually the Bisleri brand. Because it's so popular, many fake brands with similar names and designs have appeared over the years.
