As summer-time translates to hotter days, relish the taste of your childhood with a marble-fitted bottle of goli soda. Inspired by their own childhood memories of drinking the soda in pottikadais, it was during the jallikattu campaign that founders Raghuraman Gobinathan and his wife Karthika saw the movement as a means of reviving their childhood memories and reintroducing the city to the much loved goli soda. “During the protests, we heard anti-MNC slogans and conversations about how soft drink companies were monopolising the market. Identifying goli soda (known locally as paneer soda) as an integral taste of our culture and childhood, we named our brand Kaalaiyan to identify with the bull, which is also a symbol of strength,” says Raghuraman, adding with a laugh that the drinker could also draw parallels to the onscreen character Kaalaiyan played by Rajinikanth in the movie Athisaya Piravi.
Fire ’em up
Surging with fizz once the marble is popped, the brand has stuck to the classic blue paneer soda with additional flavours of orange, lime and grape. The orange is a tangy concoction of fruit-based ingredients, whereas the green is a refreshing lime soda with the zesty sourness of the lemon. If you’re looking for a much-intensified zing, try the purple one, a grape-flavoured variant that quenches thirst and sour-sweet aftertaste. The bestseller though, we learn, is still the classic paneer soda that comes sweetened with rose essence. Soon to enter the market is a ginger-infused version of the classic blue soda.
Stocked in the traditional recyclable Codd bottles, Raghuraman tells us that they are custom-made in UP, designed to be about 100gms lighter and remain tactical in allowing the drink to pass only when on its side.
Stall, no more!
Retailing across 500 stores across the city, the brand has gained popularity amongst the college students and IT workers using only social media and personal accounts for marketing. Aiming to be a technology-based experience, a mobile app is in the works, informs Raghuraman, who previously was an IT professional. Making 2018 a year of ambition, Kaalaiyan could soon bring an energy drink-based café to the city.
Available in leading retail stores in the city. Priced at Rs 15.