Japanese brewing company Asahi and the Indian firm Varun Beverages – the world’s largest Pepsi production partner outside North America – have joined forces to launch the fermented milk drink ‘Calpis’ in India. The market offers significant economies of scale: a population of 1.45 billion people, coupled with Varun’s network of 53 production facilities. Calpis, which is sold in the US under the name ‘Calpico’, was invented in 1919 by Kaiun Mishima based on a Mongolian recipe; the drink is a fermented mixture of water, milk powder, lactic acid and fruit flavourings, and is regarded in Japan as Yakult’s closest competitor. For its launch in India, the core ‘Natural/Vanilla’ variant will be complemented by a mango variant; individual bottles will be available in shops for 20 rupees (US$0.21).

Photo: Etika Holdings