Lahori Zeera is on a mission to reclaim “thanda” as a desi word, not a Coca-Cola one. On August 23, the homegrown beverage brand took over The Times of India with a campaign built around lines like “Apna Desi Thanda” and “The Thanda of India,” pushing back against decades of multinational dominance on both shelves and ad narratives.

The word choice is deliberate. “Thanda” has long been culturally tied to Coca-Cola’s iconic “Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola” platform. Lahori Zeera’s new campaign steps directly into that territory, arguing that if “thanda” is everyday Indian slang for a cold drink, it shouldn’t belong to a multinational cola brand at all.

The timing adds another layer. According to a LinkedIn post by co-founder and CEO Saurabh Munjal, the brand had originally planned an Independence Day takeover of Times of India across Hindi-speaking markets on August 15. But with “half of corporate India” chasing the same inventory, rates spiked and Lahori Zeera got “priced out and crowded out.” The takeover was pushed to August 23 instead.

Rather than downplay the setback, the brand folded it into its messaging. Munjal wrote that being Indian “isn’t a one-day celebration,” calling it “an everyday feeling” – and framed the delayed date as proof of the brand’s grounded, unpretentious positioning.

The campaign lands at a telling moment for the category. Per an Economic Times report from November 2025, newer entrants like Campa and Lahori Zeera nearly doubled their combined market share to about 15% between January and September 2025, as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo’s share slipped from 93% to roughly 85%.