In February 2012, popular South Indian actor Mahesh Babu became a spokesperson for Thums Up. Īdvertising campaigns from Thums Up build on its 'strength' and its perception as a macho drink. Product placement in films was used in the 1980s with Thums Up appearing in the background of many Hindi films. The slogan later became 'I want My Thunder', and subsequently 'Taste the thunder!' The famous slogan until the early 1980s was 'Happy days are here again', coined by copywriter, Vasant Kumar. This would later be modified by Coca-Cola with blue strokes and a more modern-looking typeface. The original Thums Up logo was a red thumbs up hand gesture with a slanted, white, sans-serif typeface. The beverage also contains natural colour (150d) and added flavours ('natural, nature identical and artificial flavouring substances'). Ingredients Ĭarbonated water, sugar, acidity regulator ( E338), and caffeine. The brand's market share and equity increased. 'Grow up to Thums Up' was a successful campaign. Thums Up started an advertising campaign directly attacking Pepsi’s television commercials, focusing on the strength of the drink hoping that the depiction of an 'adult' drink would appeal to young consumers. The brand was re-positioned as a 'manly' drink, drawing on its strong taste qualities. The Coca-Cola Company by this time had about 60.5% share of the Indian soft-drink market but found out that if it took out Thums Up, it would remain with only 28.7% of the market, hence Thums Up was re-launched, targeting 30- to 40-year-olds. Instead, Coca-Cola decided to use Thums Up as a rival brand to Pepsi. At first, Coca-Cola cut advertising and production for Thums Up to drive customers to their flagship brand, but soon realised that Thums Up customers would turn to Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola, were Thums Up withdrawn from the market. Relaunch ĭespite its strong overall equity, the brand was losing its popularity among the core cola-drinking age group of 12- to 25-year-olds, partly due to a lack of advertising. When these were sold to Coca-Cola, Thums Up had a market share of 85 percent in India. Later in the year, Coca-Cola bought the Parle-owned drinks Gold Spot, Limca and Thums Up for $60 million.

In 1993, Coca-Cola re-entered the market, and the three companies competed intensely. This nickname gained popularity in smaller towns where people would ask for 'Maha Cola' instead of Thums Up. Thums Up also introduced a larger 300 ml (10 US fl oz) bottle, branded 'MahaCola' (meaning 'great cola' the original size was 250 ml (8.5 US fl oz)). Pepsi advertisements included major Indian movie stars like Juhi Chawla, while Thums Up increased its spending on cricket sponsorship. Thums Up and Pepsi subsequently engaged in heavy competition for endorsements. In 1991, when the Indian government opened the market to multinationals, Pepsi was the first to come in. They originally planned to name the drink “Thumbs Up,” but removed the “b” to make the name unique. After much testing and experimentation, the Chauhan brothers and their research team created a cola that was fizzier and spicier than Coca-Cola. The company also wanted the drink to be fizzy, even when it was not ice-cold, so it could be sold by vendors.

Ramesh Chauhan had developed the formula from scratch, experimenting with ingredients such as cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Thums Up quickly became the most popular cola brand in India and achieved a near monopoly among cola products in India during the 1980s, above other cola products such as Campa Cola, Double Seven, Dukes and United Breweries Group's McDowell's Crush. The Chauhan brothers owned part of the Parle company and already had two other brands of soda, Limca and Gold Spot, which were popular in India at the time. Thums Up was created in 1977, after the American company Coca-Cola withdrew from India, due to regulations requiring it to disclose its formula and sell 60% of its equity to an Indian company under a government plan for foreign-owned companies to share stakes with domestic partners. In 2021, the company became a billion-dollar brand in India. In 2018, Thums Up announced they will launch the aerated beverage in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola who re-launched it in order to fight against Pepsi to capture the market.Īs of February 2012, Thums Up is the leader in the cola segment in India, commanding approximately 42% market share and an overall 15% market share in the Indian aerated waters market. It was introduced in 1977 to offset the withdrawal of The Coca-Cola Company from India. Thums Up is an Indian multinational brand of cola in India.

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