Mumbai : To counter the steep rise in raw material prices, FMCG majors have hiked prices of their fruit juice brands. PepsiCo India has hiked prices of its fruit juice brand Tropicana (200ml) by 20%. Parle Agro has raised the price of its flagship brand Frooti (200ml) from Rs 10 to Rs 12. Dabur India has also raised the price of Real (one litre) by Rs 5.

Other players in the branded beverages sector such as Coca-Cola India are looking at increasing prices to offset the higher cost of inputs. On Dabur's revised pricing strategy, its CEO Sunil Duggal said, "We have raised the price of our fruit juice brand Real (one litre) by 5% to counter the rising input cost. In the last few months, prices of fruit concentrates, sugar and lemonade had surged considerably." The company has increased the price of Real from Rs 85 to Rs 90.

Homi Battiwala, director, juice and juice-based drinks, PepsiCo India, said, "We have taken a price hike on 200ml Tropicana by Rs 2-3."

Nadia Chauhan, joint MD of Parle Agro, makers of Frooti brand, said the company had raised the price of Frooti 200ml Tetra from Rs 10 to Rs 12. "We took this decision only a month ago considering the steep rise in raw material costs," she added.

However, according to reports, there is no justification in raising the prices of fruit juice brands. The price of sugar, one of the key ingredients, has in fact come down drastically.