This article is based on public Indian records and news reports available as of September 24, 2026. India's tax and regulatory rules change frequently, and details here may have changed since. Before making any business decisions, please confirm the latest information with primary sources such as the relevant government ministry or local experts.
Indian fertilizer company Kothari Industrial Corporation Limited (KICL) launched a beverage brand called "CHUSIP" in September 2026, with tender coconut water "CHUSIP Coco Twist" as its first product. A 200ml pack sells for 50 rupees (about 83 yen). The company plans to start with just three states -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka -- and appoint a combined 100 distributors and trade partners. It's a concrete case study of which product a new local entrant chooses to lead with, and in what order it builds out distribution.
According to a report by Indian Retailer on September 18, 2026, KICL, as the flagship company of the D.C. Kothari Group, has entered the beverage business under the CHUSIP brand. A 1-liter pack is "expected to be introduced at a later stage."
Scaling the 200ml price of 50 rupees up to a 1-liter equivalent works out to 250 rupees (about 410 yen, at 1 rupee ≈ 1.6516 yen). That figure, though, is simply the 200ml unit price scaled up -- there's no report that the 1L pack will actually be sold at the same unit price. As a rule, unit prices tend to fall as pack size increases.
| Item | What's reported |
|---|---|
| Brand | CHUSIP |
| First product | CHUSIP Coco Twist (tender coconut water) |
| Size and price | 200ml pack: 50 rupees (about 83 yen) |
| 1L pack | Expected to launch at a later stage Timing and price not disclosed |
| Initial market | Tamil Nadu Kerala Karnataka |
| Distribution | Distributors and trade partners Plan to appoint 100 companies |
| Expansion candidates | Fruit drinks With and without pulp With nata de coco |
| Long-term target | In beverages, by 2035: Rs 2,500 crore (25 billion rupees) |
KICL's own website states, "Founded in 1917 by Chandula Mothilal Kothari, Kothari has ruled businesses in many fields for over a century." Note that the subject is "Kothari," not "KICL." The same page also describes the company as "a pioneer in the fertilizer industry in South India for over 60 years," so its own description makes clear it puts fertilizer forward as its longest-running business. Revenue breakdown by segment is not disclosed.
The business segments listed on the company’s website are nine in total: Kothari Fertilizers, Drones & Geo Spatial, the RPTO course, Kothari Footwear, Kothari Technologies, Kothari Media, Kothari Public School, Kothari Foods, and Parveen Roadways (the footer list shows eight items and does not include the RPTO course).
It is KICL itself that frames this launch as an “entry into the FMCG sector.” Jinnah Rafiq Ahamed, Executive Director of KICL, stated in the announcement, “This launch marks KICL’s foray into the FMCG sector.” At the same time, Kothari Foods also appears among the business segments on the official website. Neither the original article nor the official website explains the relationship between the existing food business and CHUSIP.
KICL is said to be focusing initially on building a foothold in South India, with reports that it "plans to appoint 100 distributors and trade partners" across the three states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. This isn't 100 companies with signed contracts -- it's 100 companies the company plans to appoint going forward, combining distributors and trade partners together.
The subsequent sequence is also spelled out: after the three states come other regions, then digital commerce, then overseas markets -- with overseas last. For Japanese businesses that want to import this product, that gives a rough timeline to work with.
Other industries have similar examples of using the number of outlets as a planning unit. Beauty brand Insight Cosmetics announced it would raise its general-retail outlet count from over 35,000 to over 60,000 in two years (Insight Cosmetics' "60,000 shelves" declaration). What's being counted differs, though: Insight counts the retail stores that carry its products, while KICL's 100 companies are distributors and trade partners. Line them up without matching the units, and you'll misread the comparison.
The original article says the company "aims to build a Rs 2,500 crore beverage portfolio by 2035." A crore is an Indian unit meaning 10 million, so 2,500 crore equals 2,500 × 10 million = 25 billion rupees. Converted at 1 rupee ≈ 1.6516 yen (as of September 24, 2026), that comes to about 41.3 billion yen.
This isn't a first-year sales result or an order backlog -- it's reported as the company's target nine years out.
On the product's contents, the original article writes, "According to the company, the product is 100% natural tender coconut water with no added sugar or preservatives." The key point is that this is attributed to "according to the company" -- it isn't reported as the result of third-party testing or regulatory certification.
The conditions for using this kind of claim vary by country. In Japan, using "no preservatives" as a selling point must follow the Consumer Affairs Agency's approach to food labeling, so it's best not to assume that an Indian product description can be carried over directly into Japanese promotional copy.
Other companies in South India are also pushing health and natural positioning to the fore. In September 2026, major Tamil Nadu dairy company Milky Mist invested about 40 crore (400 million rupees) to expand its high-protein yogurt production capacity from about 20 tons a day to 150 tons (Milky Mist's high-protein equipment investment). What Milky Mist moved, though, was its own production equipment, while what KICL has disclosed is a product and distribution plan. The layers of information disclosed are different, so the two can't be lined up as the same kind of progress.
Ahamed is quoted in the original article as follows: "Our research shows that Indian consumers are moving toward healthy, natural, and authentic choices. We strongly believe now is the right time to bring back natural purity in the form of coconut water from the best coconut plantations. This launch marks KICL's entry into the FMCG space, and it's the first step in building a portfolio rooted in nature, health, and trust."
What's on the product roadmap is concrete for Japanese businesses to work with. According to the original article, KICL plans to add flavors and products going forward, citing fruit drinks, beverages with and without pulp, and products containing nata de coco as candidates. All of these are still at the "plans to expand" stage.
The fact that nata de coco is among the candidates is easy for Japanese food industry people to read. Beverages built around this jelly-like fermented coconut food already circulate in Japan too, so a company that handles raw materials, manufacturing equipment, filling, or texture design can map what the other side wants to make onto its own technology. Still, this is only a mention as a candidate, not a confirmed inquiry -- any approach has to assume a counterpart that's still at the planning stage.
On the demand side, work is also progressing on non-alcoholic drinks aimed at people who don't drink alcohol. There's even an example of restaurants in the inland city of Indore rolling out six kinds of 0% drinks (Indore's six serious non-alcoholic drinks). That, though, is a restaurant menu, while what KICL is putting out is a packaged drink for retail distribution. The two can only be overlaid as a direction in demand -- they can't be treated as figures from the same market.
What's clear this time is the fact that a fertilizer company that traces its founding to 1917 is entering packaged beverages with a single 200ml coconut-water pack, and has published its sequence -- from distributors and trade partners in three states through to overseas markets.
For Japanese businesses looking to make contact, right now is the first stage in that sequence. Since overseas markets come last, it's faster to approach the company while it's still at the planning stage than to wait for an import inquiry to come around. Since nata de coco is among the expansion candidates, companies that handle raw materials, filling, or texture design can regard this as a counterpart they can approach before its specifications are locked in.
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