Maaza
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| Type | Fruit juice |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Coca-Cola Company |
| Country of origin | India |
| Introduced | 1976 |
| Variants | Maaza Orange, Maaza Pineapple |
| Related products | Slice, Frooti |
Maaza (Hindi: मज़ा, Bengali: মযা) is a Coca-Cola fruit drink brand marketed in India and Bangladesh, the most popular drink being the mango variety, so much that over the years, the Maaza brand has become synonymous with Mango. Initially Coca-Cola had also launched Maaza in orange and pineapple variants, but these variants were subsequently dropped. Coca-Cola has recently re-launched these variants again in the Indian market.
Mango drinks currently account for 90% of the fruit juice market in India[citation needed]. Maaza currently dominates the fruit drink category and competes with Pepsi's Slice brand of mango drink and Frooti, manufactured by Parle Agro.
While Frooti was sold in small cartons, Maaza and Slice were initially sold in returnable bottles. However, all brands are also now available in small cartons and large PET bottles. Of late, the Indian market is witnessing the entry of a large number of small manufacturers producing only mango fruit drink.
Maaza has a distinct pulpy taste as compared to Frooti and tastes slightly sweeter than Slice. Maaza claims to contain mango pulp of the Alphonso variety, which is known as the "King of Mangoes" in India.
[edit] History
Maaza was launched in 1976 in India. The Union Beverages Factory, based in the United Arab Emirates, began selling Maaza as a franchisee in the Middle East and Africa in 1976. By 1995, it had acquired rights to the Maaza brand in these countries through Maaza International Co LLC Dubai. In India , Maaza was acquired by Coca-Cola India in 1993 from Parle-Bisleri along with other brands such as Limca, Citra, Thums Up and Gold Spot. As for North America, Maaza was acquired by House of Spices in 2005.
