Three cousins—Saurabh Munjal, Nikhil Doda, and Saurabh Bhutna—set out on a journey that would change the Indian beverage scene forever. They lived in the busy heart of Punjab’s vibrant food culture, where every meal is a celebration and every sip a memory. In the hot summer of 2017 in Chandigarh, the air was full of the promise of shikanji on the street and the tangy fizz of goli soda. The three of them grew up with the smells of spiced cumin and rock salt. They had always wanted to turn their shared love of food and flavors into something bigger. They had no idea that a simple kitchen experiment would lead to the creation of Lahori Zeera, a brand that would grow from a small Rs 10 bottle to a Rs 525 crore empire, taking on global giants like Coca-Cola and Pepsi while promoting the unapologetic charm of “desi” cool.
The spark came to life one lazy afternoon in the kitchen of Saurabh Munjal’s family. Saurabh, a smart MBA graduate from a business family, had tried a lot of different things but wasn’t happy with any of them. His cousin Nikhil, who was good at running things and had a family history of making homemade drinks, often told them stories about his grandfather’s secret jeera soda recipe. This fizzy drink was made with cumin (jeera), black pepper, dry ginger, lemon, and sendha namak (rock salt). Saurabh Bhutna, the group’s creative heart, brought the marketing skills he had learned from running digital campaigns for local brands. In a later interview, Nikhil said, “We were just messing around, trying to recreate the taste of our childhood summers.” “These flavors are everywhere in Punjab’s streets: chatpata, refreshing, and oh-so-desi.” But in a bottle? That wasn’t there.
What began as a weekend project quickly became serious. The cousins put their savings—about Rs 5 lakh—into the business and set up a temporary lab in the kitchen, getting natural ingredients from local markets. No preservatives or fake colors—just pure, good memories. The name “Lahori Zeera” was a nod to the rock salt’s Lahore-inspired heritage, bringing up cross-border food connections without the politics. Their main product is a 160ml bottle of jeera soda that costs an unbeatable Rs 10, which is perfect for Indians who are on a budget. “We knew India liked its colas, but at what cost?” Saurabh Munjal would say, “Sugar highs and empty calories.” “Our drink was good for us, cheap, and tasted like home.”
It was a risk to launch in Mohali’s local kirana stores. They didn’t have fancy packaging or big ad budgets, so they relied on word of mouth and labels that screamed “Desi Hi Changa” (Desi is the Best). The answer was electric. Within weeks, they were selling out of bottles faster than they could fill them up again. “It only stayed on the shelf for a day or two,” Munjal said with a smile as families who wanted a guilt-free alternative to sugary sodas flooded in with feedback. By the end of 2018, they had expanded to nearby towns and were making 10,000 bottles a day in a rented space. Revenue came in slowly, at Rs 11 crore for FY19, but the real magic was in the connections—kids drank it after school and old people remembered how it tasted. There was also a lot of buzz on social media. User-made videos of “Lahori moments” at parties and picnics went viral, turning customers into evangelists.
But there were storms along the way to success. Supply chains broke down as demand rose. The beverage industry is known for needing a lot of money to run. For example, machinery for carbonation and bottling costs lakhs, and scaling up production meant dealing with food safety rules. Nikhil says, “Stock shortages were our worst nightmare.” Competitors were out there. Regional players like Bindu Jeera in Karnataka and SpiceUp in Odisha had found their own niches, but none of them could match Lahori’s northern swagger or fast growth. Big companies around the world thought they were just a fad, but the cousins saw a chance in the disorganized desi drink market, which was worth billions but was broken up by dirty roadside vendors.
January 2022 was the turning point. Belgian investor Verlinvest, who is interested in consumer brands, saw Lahori’s potential. They put in $15 million (about Rs 120 crore) in a Series A round, which made the startup worth more than Rs 500 crore. Bhutna says, “This wasn’t just money; it was proof.” The money helped the company grow by building new plants in Punjab and Haryana, entering the e-commerce market through Amazon and BigBasket, and doing research and development to make more products. Lahori Zeera was no longer alone. They made Nimboo (lemon fizz), Kacha Aam (raw mango tang), and Shikanji (spiced lemonade) from India’s street food culture. Each one is a bottled burst of tradition. By FY22, sales reached Rs 250 crore, and production rose to 20 lakh bottles a day.
Like a soda bottle that had been shaken, growth sped up. In 2024, a Series B round led by Motilal Oswal brought in Rs 200 crore, raising the company’s value to Rs 2,800 crore and setting a goal of Rs 1,000 crore in revenue by 2026. The cousins came up with smart ways to solve their problems: they partnered with other companies to co-bottle their products like Coke and Pepsi do, they got spices from farmer cooperatives in a way that was good for the environment, and they set up a hyper-local distribution network that covered more than 5,000 stores in North India. People who were good with technology could see that Instagram reels with Punjabi rappers toasting with Lahori bottles got millions of views. Influencer partnerships with fitness experts also made it seem like a “active lifestyle” drink that was low in calories but high in refreshment.
Of course, there were still problems. The heatwave in 2023 caused a spike in demand but made logistics difficult, which led to short-term shortages that upset loyal customers. Changes to the rules to make sure FSSAI compliance added more red tape, and there were rumors of copycats in Bihar and UP. But the three of them were strong enough to get through it because of their “balle balle” Punjab spirit. They spent money on automation, hired more than 200 people (many from nearby villages), and started making eco-friendly PET bottles to appeal to Gen Z’s concern for the environment. Awards came next: “Beverage Startup of the Year” at FICCI events and praise from YourStory for being culturally innovative.
Lahori Zeera’s story is like a Bollywood movie, going from a messy kitchen to a national darling by September 2025. In FY25, revenue was over Rs 525 crore, and the company had a 40% market share in the organized desi segment. The brand’s reach went as far south as Maharashtra and as far east as Kolkata, with plans for a nationwide blitz. Exports to the Indian diaspora in the UK and US showed that the company wanted to go global, mixing nostalgia with modern fizz. But at its heart, Lahori is still a family business. The cousins still host “flavor labs” in their original kitchen, where fans can share their ideas.
What makes the story of Lahori Zeera last? It’s the combination of being real and wanting to be great. In a world where everyone has the same tastes, they bottled India’s soul: the jeera that calms upset stomachs, the nimboo that quenches summer thirsts, and the shikanji that fuels festival feasts. Munjal says, “We didn’t just sell a drink; we brought back a culture.” For every bottle opened, it’s a toast to roots, showing that desi is not old-fashioned; it’s the future. Nikhil says, “From dreams of Rs 10 to realities of Rs 1,000 crore, we’ve shown that bold flavors win hearts.” And in the cola wars, that’s the sweetest win.
