India’s forgotten soft drink: This Pune brand is 142-years-old and predates Coca-Cola

Long before Coca-Cola became a global symbol of soft drinks, a small family-run soda business was already fizzing in Pune. Ardeshir’s, now popularly known as Ardy’s, began in 1884 — two years before Coca-Cola was launched in the US. Yet outside Pune, the brand remains largely unknown.

The story goes back to Ardeshir Khodadad Irani, who settled in Pune after migrating from Iran. In the 19th century, Pune’s British cantonment had a ready market for soda water, particularly among soldiers and officers.

At the time, soda supplies were linked to Bombay, making transportation and availability a challenge. Ardeshir saw an opportunity and began producing soda locally in 1884, establishing his business in the Camp area.

What started as a practical response to local demand gradually became a Pune institution.

From soda water to raspberry fizz 

Ardeshir’s initially built its reputation around soda water. Over the decades, the family expanded its range of flavours, with raspberry becoming one of its signature drinks.

The brand has also offered flavours such as lemon, orange, ginger, jal jeera, cola and ice-cream soda. Its drinks have traditionally been sold in glass bottles and have remained closely associated with Pune’s Camp neighbourhood and the city’s Parsi food culture.

Today, Ardeshir’s continues to be run by the Irani family, with its identity rooted firmly in Pune.

Why did Coca-Cola become famous while Ardeshir’s stayed local? The answer is less about who arrived first and more about scale.

Ardeshir’s remained a small, family-owned operation focused primarily on its home market. Its strength was local loyalty rather than nationwide distribution.

Coca-Cola followed a radically different path. Its business model, bottling network, advertising and distribution strategy allowed it to move from an American beverage into an international consumer brand.

That difference meant Ardeshir’s could survive for generations without becoming a household name across India.

India’s soft-drink history is older than the cola wars 

The Ardeshir’s story also challenges the idea that India’s soft-drink culture began with multinational cola brands.

Carbonated beverages were already being produced and sold in India during the 19th century. Local soda makers emerged in cities such as Bombay, creating a regional beverage culture long before global cola companies established their dominance.

The Indian beverage market was therefore built on a much longer tradition of local experimentation and regional brands.

At 142 years old in 2026, Ardeshir’s is less a challenger to Coca-Cola than a surviving piece of India’s commercial history. Its significance lies precisely in its small scale. While global beverage companies built enormous distribution and advertising machines, Ardeshir’s stayed close to the neighbourhood where it began.

That may explain why many Indians have never heard of it — and why, in Pune, a chilled bottle of its raspberry soda can still evoke something that a global brand cannot easily manufacture: a taste of local history.