New Delhi: Ravi Jaipuria is a billionaire Indian businessman and promoter of two listed companies – Varun Beverages Limited and Devyani International Limited. Ravi Jaipuri is also known as the ‘Kola King’ of India.
background
Born in 1953, Ravi Jaipuria completed his education in the country and later moved to the US to pursue business management. The youngest of three brothers, Jaipuria returned home in 1985 to join the family business as a bottler for American soft drink maker Coca-Cola. After the split of the family business in 1987, Jaipuria got a bottling plant as his share and later started working with PepsiCo – Coca-Cola’s rival American soft drink maker. Ravi Jaipuria is married and has two children – son Varun Jaipuria, who is the executive director of RJ Corp, and daughter Devyani, who manages Devyani International Limited.
Business Ventures of Ravi Jaipuria
The business tycoon strengthened his hold on the beverages market in India ever since he took over his brother’s lucrative PepsiCo Delhi franchise for an undisclosed amount. Jaipuria’s company – Varun Beverages, which he named after his son – is one of the largest bottlers outside the United States of American beverage company PepsiCo. Devyani International Limited is the largest franchisee of ‘Yum’ brands in India and one of the country’s largest chains of quick service restaurants. It also operates brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee in India. Devyani International LTF, which was listed in August 2021, has contributed significantly to his growing fortune. Notable brands such as Pepsi, Seven-Up, Mirinda Orange, Mountain Dew, Tropicana Juice and PepsiCo are manufactured and distributed by RJ Corp, a Jaipuria-based company. He also holds minority stake in listed budget hotel chain Lemon Tree and healthcare firm Medanta.
Winner of many prestigious awards
He is the recipient of several prestigious awards. He was given the PepsiCo award for International Bottler of the Year in 1997. The industrialist was also acknowledged at the PHD Annual Awards for Excellence 2018, where he received the ‘Prestigious Entrepreneurship Award’.
net worth
According to Forbes, Ravi Jaipuria is the 18th richest person in India and 333rd in the world with a net worth of over Rs 73000 crore. As of April 2023, Jaipuria’s net worth was estimated to be around US$8.9 billion.