Rasna to franchise prodn in Egypt, Ethiopia

Mumbai, Mar 20: leading player in the domestic soft drink concentrate major, Rasna, is all said to sign up franchisees in Egypt and Ethiopia to produce and market its products. Company Chairman and Managing Director Piruz Khambatta told UNI that Rasna had already manufacturing unit in Bangladesh, besides several locations within the country.

Declining to come out with the figures of the privately held company, the third generation indigenous softdrink maker, with had captivated the young ones with low cost drink concentrates unmatched by the beverage multinationals, said that the company's products currently sell in 40 countries abroad. The product names change in tune with the taste and choice of the respective countries.

Moving away from the young ones, Rasna has come out with a new product, ''Fruitplus'', that could be prepared in five seconds flat and costs under Rs 3 per 200 ml. ''Fruitplus'' was a zero per cent fat fruit drink that had been fortified with value-added ingredients such as fruit powder, vitamin A, B, C and calcium.

Targetting the youth, he said such drinks could play an important role in a healthy diet because they offer great taste and a variety of nutrients found naturally in fruits.

Rasna held close to 93 per cent market share in the soft drink concentrate market in India and 82 per cent of the inhouse consumption of soft-drink market.

UNI