Areez Pirojshaw Khambatta: the flavorist who gave India love in a packet of Rasna

The 1970s was a period of intense political ferment in India. But it was also one of economic awakening. Middle-class India, having spent the post-independence decades in the trenches, was slowly emerging to claim its rightful place in society.

One man who tapped the rising aspirations of this class was Areez Pirojshaw Khambatta, a flavorist who had inherited the company set up by his father Phiroja Khambatta.

Recognizing the need for a new kind of soft drink, in 1978 he launched the iconic Rasna brand which rapidly became a huge hit with kids of the generation with whom its mix of fun, flavour and freshness found instant resonance. It was a risky bet in a market that already had similar soft beverages.

But Khambatta, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 85, had an intuitive understanding of the dynamics of the Indian market which he sought to address - price and performance were important, of course, which is where the affordable packs as an alternative to expensive soft drinks came in, along with the promise of a healthy drink.

The Rasna girl

To that, he added positioning at a time when the term was still in its infancy. Rasna broke away from legacy products like Roohafza sherbets and Kissan squashes to establish itself as a product tailored for the 1970s pre-teen. It turned her from a passive consumer to an active participant who could whip up a glass of the drink without parental supervision.

It was a brilliant piece of targeting aided in no small measure by the adorable Rasna girl who captured the hearts of millions with her angelic smile and the unforgettable line “I love you Rasna”.

In this, she continued the trend established by the Amul and Nirma girls, who pirouetted into the consumers’ consciousness with their combination of innocence and beauty. In that move too, Khambatta revealed an entrepreneur’s instinct, getting Mudra boss A.G. Krishnamurthi to speak with Dhirubhai Ambani about letting the then Reliance-owned agency handle an outside account for the first time. Ambani's approval gave birth to a legendary campaign that propelled both Rachna and Mudra to the top of the charts.

Origin of the name

The credit for the name Rasna, though, goes to Ogilvy & Mather (O&M). which suggested changing its first name from the ambiguous Jaffa to the more relatable Rasna, emanating from ras (juice).

That was when Voltas handled the marketing for Rasna and O&M as its agency took care of the advertising.

Despite its enormous success, the company stayed private, run by Khambatta till he turned 60 and by his son Piruz, who was drafted into the business early and became its chairman and managing director in 1997. That too was typical of the man who kept to himself, rarely talking about his achievements and shunning the limelight. It would have been easy for him to sell a stake in it to the many multinationals that rushed into the growing Indian market post-liberalization or even to take the company with its high brand recall, public.

Community, social issues

But having realized his entrepreneurial ambitions, Khambatta became closely involved with the affairs of his community and was chairman of World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthostis( WAPIZ) as well as the vice president of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India. Along the way he also set up the Areez Khambatta Benevolent Trust and Rasna Foundation, both of which work in the areas of education and healthcare.

Khambatta’s interests were secular and spanned various activities. Once the highest taxpayer in his state, he was actively involved in social issues, serving as the Commandant of Ahmedabad Home Guards & Civil Defence for 20 years.

Today, Rasna is a multi-product brand with more than Rs 100 crore in sales and a distribution network across the world. Recognizing the change in consumer preferences it has moved into healthier categories like jal jeera and honey. Yet, the lasting legacy of the man who drove its initial success will be that of a little girl offering a glass of Rasna to her toy elephant and then gulping it down herself.