Broker’s call: Varun Beverages (Buy)

Target: ₹550

CMP: ₹414

Varun Beverages Ltd’s (VBL) growth rests on two levers. In India, the opportunity is penetration led where VBL reaches only about four million of an estimated 12 million FMCG outlets and per capita consumption (7 litres) remains a fraction of the global level (31 litres), leaving a multi year runway even as Reliance’s Campa and Coca-Cola compete intensely.

In international markets, increasingly Africa centric, VBL has methodically built scale through a mix of greenfield entry (DRC, Kenya) and bolt-on M&A (BevCo, Twizza, Crickley Dairy in South Africa), lifting International’s share of revenue from 20 per cent in CY21 to 33 per cent in CY25 and expects 40 per cent by CY28.

We initiate coverage with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of ₹550, valuing the stock at 40x Sep-28E EPS.

Upside triggers: Faster international scale-up and margin convergence, alongside continued India volume growth and visi-cooler penetration; and premiumisation and portfolio diversification through energy drink, dairy, snacks and new adjacencies such as Calpis, Carlsberg and proposed entry into RTD alcoholic beverages.

Key Risks: Rising competitive intensity and adverse weather conditions; slower than expected international margin convergence toward India levels; slower than expected scaling of new categories and adjacencies, including dairy, snacks, Calpis and AlcoBev; and Regulatory risk pertaining over product categorisation, formulation standards, and misleading labelling.

Published on August 28, 2026