Delighting the taste buds of Goa, Karnataka & Maharashtra for four decades
Photo caption-Yuvraj Desai with father Govind Desai.
Summers in Goa are synonymous with cool drinks and one of the oldest names to quench the thirst of Goemkars is ‘Jal’ soda, ‘Made in Goa’ in 1981 that later took a new avatar as ‘N-Jal’ in 1993 with additions of carbonated drinks in three flavours – orange, lime and cola. The journey continued with expansion in the product line, adding more flavours like clear lime, ginger, jeera and adopting the brand name ‘Trik’. “We began offering packaged drinking water in 2003,” recalls dynamic Goan entrepreneur Govind Desai, founder and managing director at Coldima Soda Industries that manufactured only soda water in glass bottles at Fatorpa, in South Goa in the 1980s.
As years went by, a new industry started with the same product line under ‘Cotyar Beverages’ with the brand name ‘N-Jal’ to flourish and expand not only in Goa but also in the neighbouring states Karnataka and Maharashtra. ‘N-Jal’ added new varieties including packaged drinking water in 2003, and soft drinks in a variety of flavours like Cola, Orange, Lime, Clear Lime, Ginger, Jeera and Mango, both in glass, as well as pet bottles. The journey continues and in 2008, Cotyar Beverages introduced a new brand of carbonated soft drinks, ‘Trik’ which came as premium mixers like Club Soda, Tonic Water, Bitter Lemon, Ginger and Jeera. It was in this year that the company transformed into Desai Beverages Private Limited, marking a new chapter in its journey.
“N-Jal’ remained our Mother Brand, under which we have eight brands,” adds Yuvaraj Desai, son of Govind Desai who joined his father’s business and now, both father and son are experimenting with newer brands. Under the brand name 'Fruizy' they began manufacturing fruit juices in 2012 and a modern plant has recently been installed and started at Sanguem Industrial Estate for juice production.
“The fruit juices have real juices and flavours like Mango, Nimbu, Kokum and Apple. As we believed that quality matters the most, we have focussed on the quality of our products. Our Nimbu-paani is not a flavoured drink, it has a homemade taste of limbu sarbat, with slightly bitter taste of the skin of the lime derived when the lime is squeezed,” says Yuvraj.
The brands come in various sizes – 150ml, 180ml, 250ml, 300ml, 500ml and 1 litre pet bottles to suit the needs of every individual. “We believe in manufacturing and supplying quality products as we value customer satisfaction through continuous improvements in product,” vouches Yuvraj and claims, “Every N-Jal product is put through multiple stages of FSSAI approved standards, making it a product that cares for the customer's taste and at the same time, quenches their thirst.”
N-Jal Soft Drinks of Desai Beverages Pvt Ltd made its debut in the dairy sector on the occasion of Dussehra in 2021. Coinciding with the 41st anniversary of the company, for the first time, N-Jal Soft drinks launched toned milk in one litre tetra pack and milk product lassi in 180ml pack with the brand name ‘Trik’. In the same year the company registered ‘Crunet’ soda, a new version of the same brand. The company has also added an energy drink with the brand name ‘9X’ to its carbonated beverages sector in 2021. “It is a caffeinated drink and the latest in our range of products,” points out Yuvraj.
How did the pandemic impact their business? Yuvraj admits that as per government protocol they had to keep the plant shut. However, as water came under essential commodities, the government gave them permission to operate. “An idea clicked upon my dad that as milk also comes under essential commodities, we should do home delivery of milk. So we undertook distribution of milk in one litre tetra packs in the entire State of Goa. We developed our own network, and utilised our three vehicles initially. So water and milk was distributed in Goan homes through our own vehicles from Pollem to Patradevi. More vehicles were added to the initial three and now we have a fleet of 40 vehicles. The drivers who lost jobs in the pandemic got employed by us, and we have maintained to offer jobs to 100 % Goemkars,” states Yuvraj.
It was a lesson learnt from the two years of pandemic period that the company decided to do the distribution of all their products by their own vehicles across Goa and aims to make their product available to any customer in any corner of Goa within 24 hours on just a phone call.
The company has been delighting the taste buds of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra with their wholesome drinks for more than four decades, and still going strong. Capturing the taste of Goa with soda, soft drinks, packaged drinking water, fruit juices, energy drinks to dairy treats – Goans are familiar with these brands Jal, N-Jal, Trik, Fruizy, 9X, Crunet, Dynamix and Chitchat.
