MAM
India-made Thums Up becomes a billion-dollar brand
Mumbai: Made-in-India soft drink brand Thums Up has become a billion-dollar brand in 2021, announced The Coca-Cola Company, which owns the brand.
“Our local Thums Up brand became a $ one billion brand in India, driven by focussed marketing and execution plans,” said The Coca-Cola Company chairman and CEO James Quincey on Thursday evening during a post-earnings call.
With this, the original fizzy drink to emerge from the country becomes the first home-grown Indian beverage brand to scale to billion-dollar sales, finding its place amongst the billion-dollar brands in the global beverages market.
During the December quarter, the company’s sales grew by nearly 30 per cent in the country as “initiatives in India to build omnichannel presence and marketing campaigns around key occasions by leveraging festivals and passion points, through occasion-led marketing and integrated execution, drove a sequential increase in market share,” Quincey added.
The locally-made fizzy drinks brand Thums Up was launched more than four decades back in 1977, after Coca-Cola had exited from the Indian market following the Indian government’s directive to reduce the ownership stake of its Indian operation.
The brand was then re-acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 1993 when it re-entered the Indian market. Coca-Cola had then bought the entire portfolio of aerated drinks from Ramesh Chauhan of Parle Bisleri. which also included Gold Spot and Limca.
MAM
Nester appoints Kunwarjeet Grover as cofounder & CBO
D2C home appliance startup strengthens leadership with 15 plus years consumer veteran.
MUMBAI: Nester just plugged in a powerhouse because when your air fryers need to fry the competition, you bring in the growth guru who’s already heated up the kitchen. Nester, the direct-to-consumer home appliance startup founded in 2025, has appointed Kunwarjeet Grover as cofounder and chief business officer. Grover brings over 15 years of experience scaling consumer brands across Himalaya Herbal Healthcare, Cavinkare, Philips Lighting, Havells India, and most recently Wellbeing Nutrition (where he was vice president of growth until June 2025). He also briefly headed growth at Pluck in 2023 and served as senior vice president at Honasa for over four years, overseeing its online marketplace.
Nester founder and CEO Abhinav Singh said, “Grover has a wealth of knowledge on how to build digital-first brands and his experience of disruptively scaling consumer brands truly aligns with Nester’s goal and vision.”
The Mumbai-based brand sells air fryers, toasters, juicers and other kitchen appliances, competing with players like Nuuk, Atomberg, Geek Technology and Wonderchef. It currently sells via e-commerce marketplaces and its own website, with plans to expand into quick commerce and offline retail. Manufacturing is handled through contract partners, though the company has indicated it intends to set up its own production facility soon.
The appointment follows Nester’s recent Rs 19 crore Pre-Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures and OTP Ventures.
Grover joins at a pivotal time for the D2C home appliances and consumer electronics category, projected to cross $30 billion by 2030 (growing at 7.2 per cent CAGR from $23.7 billion in 2025), fuelled by quick commerce and rising demand for premium, convenient kitchen solutions.
In a market where every appliance needs to cook up growth, Nester isn’t just adding a cofounder, it’s turning up the heat on ambition, one strategic hire at a time.
