Brands
Jubiliant Bhartia group develops thirst for Coke’s biggest Indian bottler
MUMBAI: It’s bottling a major partnership with the famous Bhartia brothers – Shyam and Hari. Atlanta-based The Coca -Cola Co today announced that it has reached an agreement with the multibillion dollar, well- diversified Jubilant Bhartia group to acquire a 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca -Cola Holdings (HCCH).
HCCH is the parent company of the largest Coca -Cola bottler in India, Hindustan Coca -Cola Beverages (HCCB) which primarily has a presence in the south and west of India.
“The Jubilant Bhartia group will bring invaluable experience and insights to our business as we continue to grow our presence in India,” said The Coca- Cola Co president of international development Henrique Braun. “Jubilant Bhartia Group brings a track record of building and growing consumer and other businesses in India with international partners. They are also committed to investing in the communities they serve.”
The Coca -Cola Co’s locally-owned franchise partners in India are positioned to drive successful outcomes. The investment by the Jubilant Bhartia Group family will contribute to the company’s ongoing success and help strengthen its position in the Indian market, added The Coca-Cola Co in a press statement.
Jubilant Bhartia group founder & chairman Shyam S. Bhartia and founder & co-chairman Hari S. Bhartia said the investment is an ideal addition to their business. They have a fortune estimated at about $.4.5 billion according to Forbes. The group has a presence in fast food, pharma, energy and auto distribution. Group company Jubiliant Foodworks operates the Dominos Pizza, Dunkin Donuts and Popeye’s franchises in India.
“The Coca- Cola Co is home to some of the most respected global brands and we are delighted to be associated with them,” Bhartia said. “Together, we will leverage opportunities to grow the business to greater heights and ensure more Indian consumers can enjoy The Coca Cola Co’s refreshing portfolio of iconic local and international brands.”
Because the brothers have non-disclosure agreements with the beverage giant, the Bhartias were loath to reveal any details of the scale of investment the deal entailed, but market guesstimates are that it is at around Rs 12,500 crore, with HCCB being valued at Rs 31,250 crore.
The Coca -Cola India president & southwest Asia operating unit head Sanket Ray said. “We welcome the Jubilant Bhartia group to the Coca -Cola system in India. With its diverse experience in various sectors, Jubilant brings decades of rich experience that will help accelerate the Coca -Cola system, enabling us to win in the market and provide greater value to local communities and consumers.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Rothschild & Co acted as exclusive financial adviser to The Coca -Cola Co while Morgan Stanley was the advisor for the Jubiliant Bhartia group
Brands
E-commerce growth rises, but profits come under pressure
Shop Culture flags rising costs, weak systems and a $5.38 billion quick-commerce boom reshaping global retail
MUMBAI: E-commerce is booming, but profits are thinning. A new report by Shop Culture warns that brands clinging to outdated, growth-at-all-costs strategies are being outpaced in a costlier, more complex 2025 landscape.
Global online retail is expected to cross $6.86 trillion this year, with 2.77 billion shoppers making at least one purchase. Yet returns are under strain: average return on ad spend has slipped to 2.87:1, exposing cracks in how brands chase scale without building sustainable margins.
Three shifts are rewriting the rules. First, retail media is getting pricier, with Amazon’s average cost per click rising 15.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.12. Second, while 77 per cent of e-commerce professionals now use AI daily, many see limited gains as weak systems blunt its impact. Third, geography is no longer expansion, it is strategy. The share of Shop Culture clients operating across multiple markets has more than doubled, from 30 per cent in 2024 to 65 per cent in 2025.
Subarna Mukherjee, founder and ceo, Shop Culture, is blunt: “The e-commerce industry has a nostalgia problem. In 2022, the playbook was simple: list aggressively, spend on ads, and ride the wave of post-pandemic digital adoption. It worked. Revenue grew rapidly. But by 2025, the industry is seeing the consequences of those structural shortcuts. E-commerce itself is not slowing down, the challenge lies in how brands are operating within it.”
Nowhere is the shift sharper than in India’s quick-commerce boom. The segment is set to hit $5.38 billion in 2025, growing 17 per cent and emerging as the fastest-growing globally. What began as a convenience play is fast becoming a margin buffer. In one case, quick commerce drove 70 per cent of a packaged food brand’s online revenue, delivering 130 per cent year-on-year growth. A beauty brand, meanwhile, saw selling prices rise 25 per cent higher than on traditional marketplaces.
Expansion, too, is being rethought. The report argues that brands chasing the largest markets first often stumble. Better outcomes come from sequencing entries based on efficiency, regulatory readiness and competition, with markets such as the UK and Germany offering smarter entry points than the United States.
Compliance has turned from a checkbox into a revenue lever, especially in Europe. Brands with ready frameworks can go live in 8 to 12 weeks, while others risk delays of six months or more due to listing and documentation hurdles.
AI, for all the hype, is no silver bullet. Across more than 1,500 listings, it improved conversion rates by 10 to 15 per cent, cut TACOS by 7 to 10 per cent and reduced stockouts by 20 per cent, but only when layered on strong foundations. As Mukherjee puts it: “AI is not a growth strategy, it is an amplifier. It enhances strong systems and exposes weak ones.”
The message for 2026 is stark. Growth alone will not save brands. Margins, discipline and smarter strategy will. In a market still expanding at breakneck speed, the real race is no longer for scale, it is for survival.
