CHENNAI: Kali Aerated Water Works, a Tamil Nadu-based softdrinks maker that has seen 97 years of old-fashioned business values, including the last 20, cautiously regrouping after the onslaught of the aggressive cola giants, is finally looking to establish its presence outside its home state.Best known for its Bovonto grape-flavoured drink, Kali has managed to stay on while many regional brands withered away.It isn’t just the typical grape flavour that sets apart Kali, now run by its fourth-generation scions. It also remains a stark study in contrast to the corporates who run India’s best-selling soft-drinks, a management style that will be tested as it expands. “It’s a typical ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’ business,” says K Karthick, 37, referring to the Hindi movie which evokes a large joint family. He is the first member of the fourth generation to enter the business started by his greatgrandfather.There are seven more of his generation in the business. He takes care of a plant in Tiruchirapalli. Over 25 members of his family, Karthick points out, together decide on everything from the introduction of a new flavour, its pricing, to the launch of a new ad campaign. No outside agency or management consultant for Kali. No outside funds too.The brothers who run the show don’t have offices; they are on-the-field most of the time. Kali is profitable (Karthick says its net worth is about Rs 100 crore) and prices its drinks at a premium to the cola majors. “We don’t give any discounts or offers. We believe in word-ofmouth and not advertisements,” says Karthick, a qualified engineer and the only member of the family who is ready to talk to the media at a time when Kali finally is ready to step out of Tamil Nadu and enter into other southern states. (He declined to be photographed for this story and also refused to share pictures of the plants.) “It will be a slow process and we don’t want to go hit those markets with advertisements.”It was nearly a century ago that Kali was started by PVSK Palaniappan, who didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of his father Kaliappan, a coffee, tea and spices trader. He started a soft-drinks manufacturing unit in the backyard of his house in Virudhunagar, a town less than 50 km from Madurai, naming it after his father. And for the next three decades, Kali remained confined to Virudhunagar.Slowly, it spread to other parts of the state. It now runs nine plants, including an all-women one at Tiruchirapalli. Bovonto, its flagship brand, was launched six decades ago and targeted at wealthy Chettiars, especially at weddings. Things looked hunky-dory till about two decades back, when PepsiCo and Coca-Cola entered India. That was a time, Karthick remembers, strong regional brands such as Vincent’s went out of business. “It was tough because many Indian brands were selling off to these giants. They were afraid,” he says. It became extremely difficult for the likes of Kali when the cola majors embarked on an aggressive pricepoint of Rs 5.The bigger brands also had more marketing muscle and could afford huge capital outlays. Sridhar Samu, assistant professor of marketing at the Indian School of Business, points to another issue with Kali. “When things are kept within the family, and the family grows big, there is often no clear path to growth.” So, he says, “Even though there was demand and the distribution setup was strong, growth suffered.” The turning point, Karthick says, came when PET bottles came into the market in a big way by the turn of the century. “Bovonto as a drink that has little gas started getting noticed. PET can’t hold gas for long, and this worked in our favour,” he says.Also, the middleclass in semi-urban and rural areas started owning refrigerators. What also has worked in Kali’s favour is the kind of soft-drinks it makes – ginger ale, flavoured soda and grape juice, to name a few.Kali will remain a marginal player in India’s Rs 14,000 crore soft-drinks market. What is interesting? A Euromonitor International study pointed out in July that PepsiCo and Coca-Cola will target rural areas to enhance their presence. And the recent dethroning of Thums Up by Sprite indicates that consumers are increasing saying no to colas. Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, says, “Bovonto is a classic case of a local taste that dominated the early era of bottled drinks showing gumption to make a comeback.I can think of Bovonto and Torino from Bangalore being two killer brands in the era before the Coke and Pepsis. Add Dixi Cola to that as well.” Bijoor also reckons the battle between the regional brands and the cola majors – Goliath Vs the Davids – “will not be fought with advertising.” Instead, he says, “it will be fought on the plank of the high ground of taste.”There are challenges, though, says D Latha, associate professor, Holy Cross College, Tiruchirapalli, who has done a study of regional soft-drinks brands. She says cost pressures will continue to build. Besides, “Their consumers are not habitual drinkers; they have no brand preference.” “We have always remained conservative... But with many brands and social media, we have to slowly get into these formats.”