Rising Bharat: Lahori Zeera co-founder welcomes competition, targets pan-India reach in two years

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Archian Foods, the maker of popular beverages like Lahori Zeera, Lahori Nimboo, and Lahori Shikanji, is looking to establish a pan-India presence in the next two years, co-founder and CEO Saurabh Munjal said at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit on April 8.

Munjal welcomed the entry of larger players into the niche, value-priced beverages segment, calling it a positive development that will expand the category as well as boost the overall business.

Global giants like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and even domestic major Parle Agro have long dominated the Indian beverages market with their carbonated drinks. However, the landscape is now evolving, with a wave of Indian brands offering sugar-free, natural, and organic alternatives - challenging the traditional dominance of cola, lemon, and orange-flavoured beverages.

"The pricing plays the most important element, we as a country value for money. Any product you launch in the market, price point is absolutely critical. We launched with at Rs 10 price point and that has been magical," said Munjal.  The rise of traditional-flavoured beverages like Lahori Zeera has prompted legacy players such as Coca-Cola, Parle Agro, and Bisleri to enter the segment.

On the growing competition within the category, Saurabh Munjal said, "We were the first movers in this category, and now everyone wants a slice of it. But that’s a good thing—when more players enter the space, the category grows, which is great for business and I’m glad others are taking this segment seriously." He added that the company intends to have a national footprint in the next two years.

Archian Foods in advanced stages of raising Rs 400-450 crore in a fresh round from Motilal Oswal’s private equity arm and a clutch of other investors, sources aware of the developments had told Moneycontrol last month.

The Punjab-headquartered company, which has a strong presence in the northern regions of India, has previously raised around Rs 170 crore ($20 million) from Belgium-based Verlinvest, as per Tracxn, a private markets data provider, showed.

Interestingly, the company, which was started in 2017, has been profitable since at least FY22. In FY22, the company generated a profit of Rs 3 crore, and the bottomline increased to Rs 7.6 crore in FY23, further rising to Rs 23 crore in FY24.

Lahori's high bets comes at a time when the Non-Alcoholic Ready-To-Drink (NARTD) segment is growing on the back of strong consumer demand. India's NARTD beverages market has reached a sales value of Rs 73,617 crore, registering a 10.2% year-on-year growth for the 12 months ending December 2024, according to Neilsen data.