Meet 'Cola King' Ravi Jaipuria, whose company is PepsiCo's top bottler in India; his net worth is Rs 1.5 lakh crore

Indian businessmen are ruling the world! You would be surprised how many of them are success stories that need to be acknowledged and celebrated. These not-so-popular ones work in silence away from the media glare and have managed to build empires which will continue to inspire budding entrepreneurs.

One such businessman is India¡¯s cola king - Ravi Jaipuria. His company Varun Beverages is one of PepsiCo's largest bottlers outside the United States, with a market capitalization of Rs 2.1 lakh crore as of July 15.

As of July 15, Forbes reports that the 69-year-old has a real-time net worth of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, making him India's richest individual in the food and beverage industry according to the real-time billionaire list.

Did you know his company¡¯s name Varun Beverages is named after his son, Varun Jaipuria?

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PepsiCo primarily lends its brand name, sells beverage concentrates to Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), and invests around Rs 350 crores annually in marketing, featuring endorsements from stars like Salman Khan. The company adopts an asset-light strategy, avoiding the establishment of manufacturing facilities in every location.

When you see a bottle of Pepsi in your local kirana store, it's not placed there by PepsiCo, the American giant. Instead, it¡¯s delivered and stocked by Varun Beverages.

Varun Beverages journey to becoming India's leading bottler for PepsiCo

In 1996, Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL) launched its operations in Jaipur, Rajasthan, a city that was striving to become a major metropolis at the time. Like the Pink city, Ravi Jaipuria, the Founder and Chairman of VBL, placed his bets on India's newly liberalized economy, which offered a hopeful outlook.

Today, Jaipuria¡¯s flagship company is not only one of the leading bottlers in India but also the only Indian firm to rank among the largest bottlers globally for the American beverage giant PepsiCo.

VBL has experienced steady growth over the years, aligning with the rising demand for branded colas, juices, and packaged water. A significant boost came from PepsiCo India's re-franchising in 2019, which expanded VBL's territory from serving nearly 50% of the market to over 92%. In addition to PepsiCo beverages like Pepsi and Mountain Dew, VBL also markets products from CreamBell and snacks such as Lays and Doritos. However, Jaipuria only began to fully benefit from this expansion in FY23 due to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

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The company's two subsidiaries are set to enter an agreement with PepsiCo to manufacture, distribute, and sell the snack brand 'Simba Munchiez' in Zimbabwe and Zambia. They plan to invest USD 7 million (approximately Rs 60 crore) to establish manufacturing units, according to a regulatory filing by Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL).

About Ravi Jaipuria

Ravi Jaipuria comes from a Marwari family and serves as the chairman of RJ Corp, overseeing Devyani International and Varun Beverages. He studied business management in the US and returned to India in 1985. Jaipuria began his career in the family business as a bottler for Pepsi-Cola. Following a family division in 1987, he received one bottling plant as his share and later transitioned to PepsiCo. Additionally, Jaipuria holds a minority stake in Medanta, a healthcare company, as well as in the Lemon Tree hotel chain.