Bovonto eyes global market with Mumbai launch

Kali Aerated Water Works owns soft drink brands such as Bovonto and Vibro (panneer/ rose water flavoured soda). The company is based in Thoothukudi and has its corporate office in Chennai. It had made an almost silent entry into the Mumbai market, last September, roping in local distributors during the auspicious festival of Ganesh Chaturthi to push its products into the market. The company had reportedly put up a 20-feet balloon to advertise their products on important stretches where there were Ganesha pandals such as Saki Naka and Lalbaug, in Mumbai as part of its launch. Talking to DTNext, an informed source says, “The company has close to 11 manufacturing units and most of them are run independently by members of the family, after the company was divided in 1993. 

Since then, the brand, which is a household name in Tamil Nadu, has gone on to make inroads in various states such as New Delhi, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala and international destinations as well.” Elaborating on the demand for Bovonto in international destinations, the source tells us, “We had started supplying our products to sellers in Singapore almost five years ago. Since then, we have moved into markets as diverse as Australia as well. UK, Malaysia, Seychelles, and Maldives are some of our top consumers when it comes to international sales.” 

In fact, earlier this year, KPR Dhanushkodi, the MD of the company, who is based out of Chennai, had said that company had major plans of expansion, for which it was setting up a new manufacturing plant in Sri City as the estimated cost of Rs 150 crore. When asked about this investment and the status of the project, the source said, “As far as my understanding goes, construction work on that site was in progress. I am not sure if manufacturing has commenced on the same.” 

The source from within the company says that the firm’s long term goals include having a pan India presence. When probed about the possible involvement of private equity players in the business, which was hinted at by the MD, earlier this year, the source revealed, “As it’s a family-run business, it might be very hard to bring in private equity players. All stakeholders within the family will need to be on the same page with regard to any such investments. There are a few global plans on the anvil, which we will reveal shortly.”