Reliance teams up with cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan to disrupt sports drinks market

Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL) has teamed up with former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan to co-create, manufacture and sell sports drinks in India called Spinner to be priced at Rs 10 for 150 ml bottles, about half the price of sports drinks brands like Gatorade and Powerade sold by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, executives aware of the plans said.

RCPL has an existing contract packaging partnership for Campa for cans with Muralitharan's company Muttiah Beverages. Spinner sports drinks are being bottled at Muttiah Beverages’ plant in Mysore, which also bottles Campa soft drinks, according to one of the executives.

“A Rs 10 price point for a premium category such as sports drinks is highly disruptive. Retailers have been sounded off about the move and stocks are being placed ahead of peak season by Reliance, by next week,” trade sources said.

An email seeking comments from Reliance Consumer remained unanswered till press time.

Unlike the energy drinks market with brands like Red Bull, Sting and Thums Up Charged, sports drinks as a category haven’t taken off in India because of its pricing. This market is estimated at about Rs 240 crore, but mass price points of Rs 10 could catalyse the market multi-fold over five years, analysts say.

Three years back, Coca-Cola India also extended its homegrown lemon drink Limca into the hydrating sports drinks category with Limca Sportz and roped in Olympic javelin medallist Neeraj Chopra to endorse the product.

PepsiCo sells Gatorade sports drinks, priced at Rs 50 for 500 ml bottles.

The development comes ahead of anticipated surge in demand for summer products such as soft drinks, ice-creams, air conditioners and cooling talc as temperatures across the country, and especially the Northern markets, are already 6-8 degree above normal according to weather forecaster IMD.

RCPL had inked a partnership with Muralitharan’s other company, Ceylon Beverage International, a beverage cans and filling company based in Sri Lanka, about two years back. Reliance may also acquire distribution rights for some of Ceylon Beverage International’s brands in India, according to the executives quoted earlier. Ceylon Beverages has a capacity of filling 300 million beverage cans per year and has partnerships with international, national, and regional companies, according to information on its website. This company was established in 2020, supplies cans to beverage makers in Sri Lanka as well as around the world, and partners include mineral water, energy drinks and soft drinks makers, besides hot fill juices and flavoured milk makers.