Company : Cadbury Schweppes ( Later Coca Cola)
Agency : Mudra
Brand Analysis Count : 371
One of my colleagues yesterday showed me a 1989 issue of Business India where he pointed out an ad of a long forgotten brand - Canada Dry . We passionately talked about the brand 
which we both liked.
Canada Dry was launched in India in 1995 . The brand ,from Cadbury Schweppes ,was a highly popular brand of softdrinks across the globe. Canada Dry was a much hyped brand because it was from the house of Cadbury. Cadbury Schweppes launched Canada Dry and Orange Crush in the Indian market with much fanfare.
Canada Dry was a Champagne Softdrink. The brand has positioned itself as a champagne and the taste was different and refreshing.
The brand was also promoted heavily in various media. The ad featuring the snow and tiger brings back the nostalgia about this brand. The brand was positioned as a premium cooldrink . The brand gained immediate acceptance because of its association with Cadbury. The brand had the potential to become a premium softdrink brand in India .
But alas, the brand did not last too long in the market. In 1999 CocaCola took over the beverages business of Cadbury Schweppes and like GoldSpot and Limca , Coke killed this brand.
It is sad to see such brands being killed for no reason connected with customers. The only reason for Coke to kill these brands was to make way for Coke's original brands. In the case of Canada Dry , the brand only had a negligible presence in the Indian market.
Look at the Indian market now - Is there a premium softdrink brand in India ? Neither Coke or Pepsi was able to create a premium softdrinks category in India. They have not even tried yet.......
which we both liked.Canada Dry was launched in India in 1995 . The brand ,from Cadbury Schweppes ,was a highly popular brand of softdrinks across the globe. Canada Dry was a much hyped brand because it was from the house of Cadbury. Cadbury Schweppes launched Canada Dry and Orange Crush in the Indian market with much fanfare.
Canada Dry was a Champagne Softdrink. The brand has positioned itself as a champagne and the taste was different and refreshing.
The brand was also promoted heavily in various media. The ad featuring the snow and tiger brings back the nostalgia about this brand. The brand was positioned as a premium cooldrink . The brand gained immediate acceptance because of its association with Cadbury. The brand had the potential to become a premium softdrink brand in India .
But alas, the brand did not last too long in the market. In 1999 CocaCola took over the beverages business of Cadbury Schweppes and like GoldSpot and Limca , Coke killed this brand.
It is sad to see such brands being killed for no reason connected with customers. The only reason for Coke to kill these brands was to make way for Coke's original brands. In the case of Canada Dry , the brand only had a negligible presence in the Indian market.
Look at the Indian market now - Is there a premium softdrink brand in India ? Neither Coke or Pepsi was able to create a premium softdrinks category in India. They have not even tried yet.......
Excellent Blog...very informative..the best I have read on marketing so far...
ReplyDeleteHarish,
ReplyDeleteWhy you need a premium brand, a mass market brand and a low cost brand in India? Why every category in India should be broke down based on the status and class of individuals?
Magic Of Coke/Pepsi lies in the fact that both a common man and the richest man in India drinks the same drink... Hope they don't destroy that equality..
Yes.. Extremely sad! So much for companies doing everything in their power for their customer's satisfaction!
ReplyDeleteI used to love the drink and the ad "cooool coool Canada... " (with the white tiger in the snow)
I have a question. Wouldnt Coke's bottom line have gained immensely? Its only a matter of time before the masses started associating Canada Dry with Coca Cola...
i remember canada dry...it had the hard drink-soft drink varient, too, didnt it? canned was hard drink? i think if it was relaunched now, it cud create a bigger buzz than b4..as we are so open to drinkin n pubbin n clubbin
ReplyDeleteit was the BEST after THUMBS UP
DeleteI think the Indian demographics were still not strong back then to accept a premium soft drink. Now, the scenario is different. Probably it is time to do a relaunch...
ReplyDeleteI guess there were 3 brands
ReplyDelete1. Canada Dry
2. Sport Cola
3. Crush
They also had a lemon brand I guess
Schweppes
Deletethe major problem according to me with Canada Dry was one of the P's which it din;t cater to..."place"...i remember my formative years in lucknow where i had to go to hazratganj which was one of the premier commercial hubs in the city to have a Canada Dry. The distribution was pathetic and in that sense, Coke should have taken gigantic advantage of its envious distribution strategy to place Canada Dry neck-to-neck with its other offerings. The sublime taste of Canada Dry would have went down very well with the consumer, literally!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for share this information, i really didn't know about that, will get advantage from this,Thanks for share this
ReplyDeletereally very informative
ReplyDeleteI really miss the canada dry drink, do you still get this drink in India some place?
ReplyDeleteCanada Dry had a great taste, and would have made a huge impact had it not been acquired by Coca Cola. Thums up and Limca survived because prior to their acquisition by Coca Cola, they already had a good market in India.
ReplyDeleteTill now, no other drink has come up in the market similar to its taste.
Nice to read about Canada Dry. It was my favourate drink during late 90's.
ReplyDeleteI miss this cold drink so much.... I never knew it was a Champagne Softdrink. :) I did realize that it was very diff in taste and very classy... and I loved it....
ReplyDeleteMy Fav Drink Canada Dry
ReplyDeleteI Used to drink daily 1-2 bottles regularly on my way back to home from school.
Miss U Canada DRY
Back then I always drink Canada dry....ordered this drink be it restaurant club canteen ... Please relaunch it as many Canada dry lover sure, now it can fail coke Pepsi or any other aereated drinks ....please bring back Canada dry...... I still would prefer Canada dry over any other drink.... :)))) miss u Canada dry
DeleteI wish together we could bring Canada Dry back to India.
ReplyDeleteCoca- Cola killed the best Cold drink of 90's , they killed "Citra", which was even beating thumps up at that point in time.
ReplyDelete