How India buys tea, coffee and soft drinks
6 listed companies sold ₹28,565 crore of tea, coffee and soft drinks in FY25. Hindustan Unilever Ltd sold the most, 52.7% of it. Varun Beverages Ltd earned the most on each rupee of sales: 17.9%.
The brands, and who owns them
Brooke Bond Red Label, Bru, Bru Coffee, Red Label and others are Hindustan Unilever Ltd's; Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Pepsi and others are Varun Beverages Ltd's; Tata Tea, Tata Tea Chakra Gold, Tata Tea Premium, Tetley and others are Tata Consumer Products Ltd's; MILO, NESCAFÉ, NESCAFÉ® Classic, NESCAFÉ GOLD and others are Nestle India Ltd's; RailNeer is Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd's; Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water, Kingfisher Soda are United Breweries Ltd's; Complan®, Glucon D are Zydus Lifesciences Ltd's; Real, Real Juices, Dabur Glucose, Réal Activ and others are Dabur India Ltd's. Brands are read from each company's filings and checked against a public source.
Who sells the most
Hindustan Unilever Ltd had 52.7% of the listed companies' sales of tea, coffee and soft drinks here, 2.7 times as much as Varun Beverages Ltd, the next largest. The two together sold 73%; the other 4 the rest.
What it is made of
Of the sales reported by product line, tea is the largest at ₹19,578 Cr, then coffee at ₹2,909 Cr.
How the sales have grown, and who sold them
The listed companies here sold ₹30,806 Cr of tea, coffee and soft drinks in FY26. Counting only the companies with figures in both years, sales went from ₹6,077 Cr in FY19 to ₹6,722 Cr. The biggest rise was in FY23 (+49%) and the weakest year FY25 (-31%). Hindustan Unilever Ltd's part of the total went from 53% in FY23 to 48% in FY26. Over three years Hindustan Unilever Ltd grew fastest, -0.8% a year. Some companies are counted only from a later year (Hindustan Unilever Ltd from FY23; Tata Consumer Products Ltd from FY25; Nestle India Ltd from FY24; Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd from FY25; United Breweries Ltd from FY25).
Who earns the most on each rupee
Operating profit before interest and tax, as a share of sales of tea, coffee and soft drinks. Varun Beverages Ltd earned 18.1% on its sales in FY26, against 2.0% in FY17. Tata Consumer Products Ltd earned 12.0% on its sales in FY26, against 14.8% in FY25. Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd earned 13.7% on its sales in FY26, against 11.7% in FY25.
The companies, and their brands
| Company and brands | Sales FY25 | Growth 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | Margin | Profit share | Return on assets | P/E | ROE | Share price 1 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindustan Unilever Ltd Brooke Bond Red Label, Bru, Bru Coffee, Red Label, 3 Roses, Lipton Green Tea, Red Label Natural Care, Taj Mahal Deccan Rose Sells in 28 states and 79 countries; exports 2.6% of turnover |
₹15,060 Cr estimate |
-1.6% | -0.8% | — | — | — | — | 29.6 | 31.0% | -25.1% |
| Varun Beverages Ltd Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Seven-Up, Tropicana, Evervess, Gatorade, Seven-Up Nimbooz, Seven-Up Nimbooz Masala Soda, Slice, Sting Sells in 26 states and 13 countries; exports 0.8% of turnover |
₹5,680 Cr | +18.3% | — | — | 17.9% | 59.3% | — | 44.2 | 15.2% | +0.1% |
| Tata Consumer Products Ltd Tata Tea, Tata Tea Chakra Gold, Tata Tea Premium, Tetley, Chakra Gold, Eight O'Clock Coffee, Himalayan, Himalayan Natural Mineral Water, Kanan Devan, Organic India, Tata Coffee Grand, Tata Coffee Grand Cold Coffee Sells in 28 states and 40 countries; exports 34.0% of turnover |
₹4,518 Cr | +15.3% | — | — | 14.8% | 38.7% | 9.0% | 58.1 | 9.4% | -14.2% |
| Nestle India Ltd MILO, NESCAFÉ, NESCAFÉ® Classic, NESCAFÉ GOLD, NESCAFÉ Sunrise, NESPRESSO Sells in 36 states and 28 countries; exports 4.1% of turnover |
₹2,909 Cr estimate |
+25.8% | — | — | — | — | — | 67.5 | 75.2% | +13.5% |
| Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd RailNeer Sells in 28 states; exports 0.0% of turnover |
₹393 Cr | +3.4% | — | — | 11.7% | 2.7% | — | 26.9 | 35.0% | -33.4% |
| United Breweries Ltd Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water, Kingfisher Soda Sells in 36 states and 50 countries; exports 1.28% of turnover |
₹5 Cr | — | — | — | -221.0% | -0.7% | — | 80.2 | 9.3% | -31.8% |
Also sold by
See every one of these companies in Valarth
Questions people ask
Which listed companies sell tea, coffee and soft drinks in India?
6 listed companies report their sales of tea, coffee and soft drinks: Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HINDUNILVR), Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL), Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TATACONSUM), Nestle India Ltd (NESTLEIND), Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), United Breweries Ltd (UBL). 6 more sell them but report them together with other products.
Which listed company sells the most tea, coffee and soft drinks in India?
Hindustan Unilever Ltd, with sales of tea, coffee and soft drinks of ₹15,060 crore in FY25: 52.7% of the listed companies' total here.
How big is the listed market for tea, coffee and soft drinks?
The listed companies here sold ₹28,565 crore of tea, coffee and soft drinks in FY25. Private makers are not included.
Which listed company makes the most profit on tea, coffee and soft drinks?
Varun Beverages Ltd: its operating profit was 17.9% of its sales of tea, coffee and soft drinks in FY25.
Who owns Brooke Bond Red Label?
Brooke Bond Red Label is a brand of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, listed on the NSE as HINDUNILVR.
Who owns Bru?
Bru is a brand of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, listed on the NSE as HINDUNILVR.
Who owns Aquafina?
Aquafina is a brand of Varun Beverages Ltd, listed on the NSE as VBL.
Who owns Mirinda?
Mirinda is a brand of Varun Beverages Ltd, listed on the NSE as VBL.
Who owns Tata Tea?
Tata Tea is a brand of Tata Consumer Products Ltd, listed on the NSE as TATACONSUM.
Who owns Tata Tea Chakra Gold?
Tata Tea Chakra Gold is a brand of Tata Consumer Products Ltd, listed on the NSE as TATACONSUM.
Who owns MILO?
MILO is a brand of Nestle India Ltd, listed on the NSE as NESTLEIND.
Who owns NESCAFÉ?
NESCAFÉ is a brand of Nestle India Ltd, listed on the NSE as NESTLEIND.
Who owns RailNeer?
RailNeer is a brand of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd, listed on the NSE as IRCTC.
Who owns Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water?
Kingfisher Premium Packaged Drinking Water is a brand of United Breweries Ltd, listed on the NSE as UBL.