Chauhan sisters target India's beverages crown for Parle Agro

Schauna and Nadia Chauhan—daughters of Prakash Chauhan, who co-created beverage brands like Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot and Maaza—revamped traditional brands and introduced new products in the past decade to strengthen their beverages portfolio. Now they want to build the largest beverages company in India. Parle Agro, which produces beverages Frooti, Appy, Appy Fizz, Smoodh and Bailley, is in the process of expanding its revenue base to Rs 20,000 crore by 2030 from Rs 3,126 crore in FY24. The Chauhan sisters feature on Fortune India's Most Powerful Women list for 2025.

"We’ve made strategic investments in scaling our manufacturing units, ensuring that the production capacity meets rising demand while also creating local employment," says Schauna Chauhan, CEO, Parle Agro. Nadia, Joint MD & CMO of Parle Agro, says their strategic diversification into dairy beverages has enabled them to pivot towards new growth avenues, ensuring they continue to meet consumer needs and market demands effectively.

In FY24, Parle Agro’s consolidated revenue fell by 12.3% to Rs 3,126.06 crore and its profit plummeted 89.1% to Rs 17.29 crore, thanks to a 40% 'sin tax' on sparkling drinks. The decision to place fruit-based, non-caffeinated sparkling drinks in the sin tax category led to the GST on Appy Fizz increasing to 40% from 12% and adversely affected the margins of the company.

The past couple of years have been a crucible for the industry, with unprecedented challenges driven by unpredictable weather and policy changes, says Nadia. "We view these challenges as opportunities for growth and innovation, not just obstacles to overcome. Through this lens, we have harnessed the power of cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence to strengthen our systems to not only adapt but thrive amidst change," she says.

“Over the past few years at Parle Agro, we’ve expanded our reach, strengthened our market presence, and focussed on sustainability-driven innovation,” says Schauna. Understanding the gap in the ready-to-drink dairy segment, they introduced Smoodh, positioned at an affordable price of Rs 10. The foray into the dairy business is essentially to create a balanced portfolio across fruit-based beverages and dairy. One of Parle Agro’s major initiatives has been 100% recyclable PET packaging. “We’re actively working towards reducing our carbon footprint while continuing to scale,” Schauna adds.

The sisters support each other not only in their business pursuits but also in their personal lives, recognising that their journeys are intertwined. "We celebrate each other's successes and stand together during challenges, building a culture of encouragement and mutual respect," Nadia says.

Being together in the family business has helped the sisters to weather the tough situations better. “There have also been challenges that tested resilience, from handling competitive pressures to market shifts. Each setback, whether big or small, has helped refine our strategy and sharpen our focus,” says Schauna.

Though Parle Agro has a wide range of products, Frooti still dominates the basket, contributing over 48% of its total sales. The beverage giant has a network of 84 manufacturing facilities, and it retails the products across 2 million outlets through a network of over 7,500 channel partners, along with an international presence in over 50 countries.