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Thums Up is an Indian multinational brand of
cola Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imita ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It was introduced in 1977 to offset the withdrawal of
The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...
from India. The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola who re-launched it in order to fight against
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...
to capture the market. , Thums Up is the leader in the cola segment in India, commanding approximately 42%
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
and an overall 15% market share in the Indian aerated waters market. In 2021, the company became a billion-dollar brand in India.


History

Thums Up was created in 1977, after the American company Coca-Cola withdrew from India, due to regulations requiring it to disclose its formula and sell 60% of its equity to an Indian company under a government plan for foreign-owned companies to share stakes with domestic partners. The Chauhan brothers owned part of the Parle company and already had two other brands of soda,
Limca Limca is an Indian multinational brand of lemon- and lime-flavoured carbonated soft drink made primarily in India and certain parts of the U.S. It contains 60 calories per 150ml can. The formula does not include fruit, relying instead on arti ...
and
Gold Spot Gold Spot was one of the three brands of carbonated soft drink started in India by Parle Bisleri under the initiative of its founder Ramesh Chauhan in 1977 after the exit of Coca-Cola. PepsiCo had already left the Indian market in 1962 due to sl ...
, which were popular in India at the time. Thums Up quickly became the most popular cola brand in India and achieved a near
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
among cola products in India during the 1980s, above other cola products such as
Campa Cola Campa Cola is a soft drink brand in India. It was a market leader in the Indian soft drink market in the 1970s and 1980s in most regions of India until the advent of the foreign players Pepsi and Coca-Cola after the liberalisation policy of the P ...
,
Double Seven ''Double Seven'' is a studio album by The Upsetters. Track listing All tracks composed by Lee Perry; except where indicated Side one #"Kentucky Skank" #"Double Six" – U Roy #"Just Enough" (Buddy Mize, Ira Allen) – David Isaacs #"In The Ia ...
, Dukes and
United Breweries Group United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL), also called UB Group, is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in UB City, Bangalore, Karnataka. Its core business includes beverages and investments in various sectors. The company markets beer un ...
's McDowell's Crush. Ramesh Chauhan had developed the formula from scratch, experimenting with ingredients such as cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. The company also wanted the drink to be fizzy, even when it was not ice-cold, so it could be sold by vendors. After much testing and experimentation, the Chauhan brothers and their research team created a cola that was fizzier and spicier than
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
. They originally planned to name th
drink
“Thumbs Up,” but removed the “b” to make the name unique. In 1991, when the
Indian government The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...
opened the market to multinationals,
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...
was the first to come in. Thums Up and Pepsi subsequently engaged in heavy competition for endorsements.
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...
advertisements included major Indian movie stars like
Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...
, while Thums Up increased its spending on cricket sponsorship. Thums Up also introduced a larger bottle, branded "MahaCola" (meaning 'great n sizecola'; the original size was ). This nickname gained popularity in smaller towns where people would ask for "Maha Cola" instead of Thums Up. In 1993, Coca-Cola re-entered the market, and the three companies competed intensely. Later in the year, Coca-Cola bought the Parle-owned drinks Gold Spot, Limca and Thums Up for $60 million. When these were sold to Coca-Cola, Thums Up had a
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
of 85 percent in India.


Relaunch

Despite its strong overall equity, the brand was losing its popularity among the core cola-drinking age group of 12- to 25-year-olds, partly due to a lack of advertising. At first, Coca-Cola cut advertising and production for Thums Up to drive customers to their flagship brand, but soon realised that Thums Up customers would turn to Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola, were Thums Up withdrawn from the market. Instead, Coca-Cola decided to use Thums Up as a rival brand to Pepsi. The Coca-Cola Company by this time had about 60.5% share of the Indian soft-drink market but found out that if it took out Thums Up, it would remain with only 28.7% of the market, hence Thums Up was re-launched, targeting 30- to 40-year-olds. The brand was re-positioned as a "manly" drink, drawing on its strong taste qualities. Thums Up started an advertising campaign directly attacking Pepsi’s
television commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
, focusing on the strength of the drink hoping that the depiction of an "adult" drink would appeal to young consumers. "Grow up to Thums Up" was a successful campaign. The brand's market share and equity increased.


Ingredients

carbonated water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...
,
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
, acidity regulator (
E338 Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, ...
), and
caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...
. The beverage also contains natural colour (150d) and added flavours ("natural, nature identical and artificial flavouring substances").


Logo and marketing

The original Thums Up logo was a red thumbs up hand gesture with a slanted, white, sans-serif typeface. This would later be modified by Coca-Cola with blue strokes and a more modern-looking typeface. The famous slogan until the early 1980s was "Happy days are here again", coined by copywriter, Vasant Kumar. The slogan later became "I want My Thunder", and subsequently "Taste the thunder!" Product placement in films was used in the 1980s with Thums Up appearing in the background of many Hindi films. Advertising campaigns from Thums Up build on its "strength" and its perception as a
macho Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...
drink. In February 2012, popular South Indian actor
Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Award ...
became a spokesperson for Thums Up. In October 2012, Coca-Cola India signed
Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
once again as the brand ambassador of Thums Up. The company has also tied with Salman Khan's movie ''
Dabangg 2 ''Dabangg 2'' () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film co-produced with and directed by Arbaaz Khan in his directorial debut, who co-produced the film with Malaika Arora. Its story is set in Kanpur and written by Dilip Shukla. ''D ...
'' and his charitable organisation as part of the deal. In 2022, the company launched its ads campaign "Toofan" with Indian cricketer
Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah (born 6 December 1993) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team in all formats of the game. In the India's domestic cricket, he plays for Gujarat cricket team and Mumbai I ...
aiming to inspiring the audiences to reach their ‘PalatDe’ moments by teaming their strong, unshakeable belief systems and undying spirits with the taste of the product. A similar video ad was created showcasing
Mohammed Siraj Mohammed Siraj (born 13 March 1994) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team as a Right-arm fast medium bowler. He plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and Hyderabad in dom ...
as the Indian fast bowler. Popular Bollywood actor
Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
became brand ambassador. A new ad campaign was launched as #ThumsUpStrong spirit. The strong unique taste of the brand is naturally weaved into strength as an emotion, that urges the drinkers to stay strong and believe in their dreams. Teaming with South Indian actor
Vijay Deverakonda Deverakonda Vijay Sai (born 9 May 1989), better known as Vijay Deverakonda, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the recipient of a Filmfare Award, a Nandi Award, and a SIIMA Award. Since 2018, h ...
, the company released its action-packed campaign to build on the strong taste and experience.


Sponsorship


Cricket

Thums Up was a major sponsor of
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
matches and also had a notable presence at the
Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...
cricket matches. In the early 1980s, it came out with several
postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
s featuring
Sunil Gavaskar Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ ; born 10 July 1949), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented India and Bombay from 1971 to 1987. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the grea ...
and
Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
.


Indian motorsports

Besides cricket, Parle’s southern bottler was a major sponsor of Indian
motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
in the 1980s. In addition to sponsoring several Indian track drivers in Sholavaram races, they sponsored several regional car and bike rallies. They were also associated for several seasons with the
Lakshmi Mills Lakshmi Mills Company is a major textile yarn and cloth manufacturer in Coimbatore, India. The company was established by G.Kuppuswamy Naidu in 1910. It has two composite textile units in Coimbatore: Avinashi Road and Palladam and one in Kovi ...
Super Speeds team.


2020 Olympics

Thums Up announced a worldwide partnership with the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in July 2021 to commemorate the 100th year of India's participation in the Olympic Games. The brand rolled out a special athlete packaging, featuring Indian Olympians
Bajrang Punia Bajrang Punia (born 26 February 1994) is an Indian freestyle wrestler, who competes in the 65-kg weight category. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Punia won a bronze medal by defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov with a wide 8-0 margin. Punia ...
,
Manu Bhaker Manu Bhaker is an Indian Olympian who competes at airgun shooting. She represented India at the 2018 ISSF World Cup and won two gold medals. She is the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup. She won the gold medal in women's ...
,
Vikas Krishan Yadav Vikas Krishan Yadav (born 10 February 1992) is an Indian boxer from Bhiwani district in Haryana, the hub of some of India's best boxers. He won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in the Lightweight category and a gold medal in 75 kg we ...
,
Deepika Kumari Deepika Kumari (born 13 June 1994) is an Indian professional archer. Currently ranked the World No. 2, she competes in the event of archery. She won a gold medal in the 2010 Commonwealth games in the women's individual recurve event. She also w ...
, and
Atanu Das Atanu Das (born 5 April 1992) represents India in the recurve men's individual and team events. His current world ranking is 9 as of 22 July 2021. He is the spouse of World No. 1 Indian archer Deepika Kumari. Career Das started archery at th ...
.


Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

The company announced a worldwide partnership with the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in August 2021. The brand rolled out a special athlete packaging, featuring six athletes including Mariyappan Thangavelu (high jump),
Sakina Khatun Sakina Khatun (born 20 June 1989 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian powerlifter who won bronze medal in the Powerlifting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games – Women's 61 kg, women's 61 kg event at the Weightlifting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games ...
(powerlifting), Suyash Yadav (swimming), Navdeep Singh (javelin throw), Sumit Antil (javelin throw), and Avani Lekhara (shooting).


Celebrity endorsements

Post 1990s, Thums Up's celebrity endorsers were: *
Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
*
Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
(until 2016) *
Ranveer Singh Ranveer Singh Bhavnani (; born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. The recipient of several awards, including five Filmfare Awards, he is among the highest-paid Indian actors and has been featured in '' Forbes India''s ...
*
Chiranjeevi Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu language, Telugu, as ...
*
Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Award ...
(until 2021) * Vishal Reddy *
Vijay Deverakonda Deverakonda Vijay Sai (born 9 May 1989), better known as Vijay Deverakonda, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the recipient of a Filmfare Award, a Nandi Award, and a SIIMA Award. Since 2018, h ...
(since 2022) *
Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah (born 6 December 1993) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team in all formats of the game. In the India's domestic cricket, he plays for Gujarat cricket team and Mumbai I ...
(since 2022) *
Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...


Awards and recognition

*According to the Brand Trust Report 2012 published by Trust Research Advisory, a brand analytics company, Thums Up was positioned 140th among India's most trusted brands. *''
The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...
'' ranked Thums Up at 21st place in its Most Trusted Brands report. * In Brand Trust Report 2013, Thums Up was ranked 170th among the most trusted brands in India. * According to the Brand Trust Report 2014, Thums Up was at 66th position among India's most trusted brands.


In popular culture

A peak in the
Manmad Manmad ( ənmaːɖ is one of the towns in Nashik district in the state of Maharashtra in India. It is the third largest city in Nashik district, with a population of approximately 80,000. Geographically it lies within Nandgaon Tehsil in Na ...
Hills has become known as the "Thums Up Mountain" or the ''"Thums Up Dongar"'' (in
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
), because it is shaped, by coincidence, like the "Thums Up" logo. It is visible from trains passing by and has become a popular sight. Thums Up appears in the book ''
Eat, Pray, Love ''Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia'' is a 2006 memoir by American author Elizabeth Gilbert. The memoir chronicles the author's trip around the world after her divorce and what she discovered d ...
'' and its 2010 film adaptation. The drink appears throughout Salman Rushdie's controversial novel ''
The Satanic Verses ''The Satanic Verses'' is the fourth novel of British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism ...
'' (1988).


References


External links

* {{Coca-Cola brands Soft drinks Cola brands Indian drink brands Products introduced in 1977 1977 establishments in India Coca-Cola brands Coca-Cola acquisitions