In 2021, when Parle Agro’s business depended heavily on Frooti and Appy, Schauna and Nadia Chauhan were working to build another brand. Their attempt to build a coffee-based drink, Cafe Cuba, had just met with failure. But the daughters of chairman Prakash Chauhan were not ready to back out. They created a dairy beverage brand ‘Smoodh.’ Aggressive marketing and pricing helped the brand make inroads into rural markets. Smoodh crossed ₹685 crore turnover in less than two years of launch. According to Nadia, the category was dominated by large packs at high price points. The ₹10 price helped them penetrate the rural market from where 50% of the business comes now, says Nadia. The beverage portfolio of Parle Agro has fruit-based and sparkling drinks, apart from bottled water Bailey. It competes with Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Amul. Schauna says Parle Agro’s most significant achievement has been sourcing 96% materials domestically. Introduction of technologies and advanced systems has led to improvement in operational efficiency, resulting in increased productivity, reduced costs and optimised operations, she adds. By partnering with recycling agencies, we have also accomplished recycling 100% of plastic waste, says Schauna. — Nevin John