Reliance has relaunched Campa Cola in a new avatar with three flavors, Cola, Orange, and Lemon, and in an aluminum can. However, the question remains whether Campa Cola can regain its popularity and sales. Campa Cola was a local brand that became popular in the late 1970s and 1980s when Coca-Cola was forced to leave the Indian market. Relaunching heritage brands is not a new strategy, but it’s not guaranteed to succeed.
There are three reasons why a relaunched brand may not win the popular mandate. Firstly, the primary target audience may never have engaged with the brand in its earlier form. Secondly, even the core consumers of the brand may have found alternative options and switched their loyalties. Thirdly, the category that the brand belonged to may no longer be relevant to the current consumer.
Other heritage brands that have attempted to come back recently, such as Dalda, Jawa-Yezdi motorcycles, and the movie 83, have failed to gain traction with younger audiences who could not relate to the brands or the stories. Therefore, it’s not always advisable to rely solely on nostalgia to promote a brand as it may not resonate with the current market.
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While it may be tempting to relaunch an old brand that has strong recall value, it’s important to consider whether the product and the category are still relevant to today’s consumers. Cola, unlike fine wine, does not improve with age, and the tastes and preferences of consumers change over time. Therefore, relaunching a brand purely based on nostalgia may not be a sustainable strategy for long-term success. It’s essential to evaluate the relevance of the brand and the category in the current market and adapt accordingly.
