In the midst of Vellore’s unforgiving summer heat, a familiar scene plays out as outdoor work turns intolerable. The sound of a sprightly pop marks the end of a desperate thirst, as pent-up fizz gushes out of the uniquely designed glass bottle. The colourful juice goes down in loud and rapid gulps, leaving way only for a sigh of relief to escape. With the bottle emptied and the thirst quenched, the heat suddenly becomes bearable, and work can go on.
“It is the satisfaction!” exclaimed Mohana Krishnan, the third-generation proprietor of Kannan and Co. Goli Soda, which is marching towards its 100th year. “This is what keeps us going even after so long. People liking our goli soda [which gets its name from the marble cork in the bottle] is enough motivation for us. A person tasted it again after 73 years and said it had the same quality,” he said.
A familiar sight in the past
For those who have criss-crossed the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway and the interior villages on the route, the legend, ‘Kannan & Co’, painted in black on the wooden frames of petty shops was a familiar sight in the years gone by.
Kannan and Co. was established in 1924. Its journey began when S.V. Kannusami Mudaliyar sent ₹2,000, a princely sum then, to a manufacturer in Germany, placing an order for glass bottles with marbles in them, as he decided to set up a goli soda business in what was then a quaint village. “I am told he was struck by ‘divine intervention’ that made him start the business and gave him the drive to do it against all odds,” says his grandson Mohana Krishnan.
The German manufacturer sent the consignment and wished him the best. Mr. Mohana Krishnan proudly holds a 100-year-old bottle as he feels ‘Made in Germany’ etched on its worn-out surface. Today, Kannan and Co. sources these popular bottles from Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh.
It was one of the first goli soda businesses in the Madras province in the British era. “Today, we are the foremost goli soda brand in all of Vellore and have six flavours — panneer, green fruit, blueberry, cola, lemon and orange. Panneer and green are the most popular,” Mr. Mohana Krishnan said.
However, the business that took off with its original panneer soda (rose flavour) found itself in the throes of a wounded but recovering economy after Independence, wherein newer competitors emerged. To add to this, the liberalisation policy in the early 1990s brought in international cola brands that swept the market off its feet. “We took a major hit when these big companies came, but we did not change our business. We believe in each drink being of the best quality and did not want to compromise,” Mr. Mohana Krishnan said.
Mr. Mohana Krishnan and his sons M. Anandha Krishnan and M. Hari Krishnan, who are the fourth-generation proprietors of the business, believe that their loyal customer base in Vellore and the decision not to expand are what helped their business ride the wave successfully. “Even today, our main business is in Vellore and we have two factories in Krishnagiri,” Mr. Anandha Krishnan said.
However, what could be called a relatively normal business saw a sudden boom in sales in 2017 as goli soda witnessed a frenzy with the ‘vocal for local’ sentiment gaining momentum during the jallikattu protests in Tamil Nadu. “Since then, goli soda has become very popular and we now sell in cafes and hotels, and supply for wedding functions and many more events,” Mr. Anandha Krishnan said. At the same time, the family’s next generation took over and decided to modernise the system. Two years of research and development resulted in newer machines that reduced the dependence on labour. Today, Kannan and Co. is considered the first semi-automatic goli soda factory in the State.
But with every trough a wave carries, there comes a crest that threatens the course of a business. During the COVID-19 pandemic, goli soda sales witnessed another decline as the consumption of cold drinks dipped. “Our business was good only for 2-3 months during the summer. We continued production at a slow pace and took care of our workers who could not go home. But we are back on track, and the last two years have been great,” Mr. Anandha Krishnan said.
A common question that may arise while speaking of goli soda is how the marble goes back up and sits on the rim of the bottle each time it is reused. To this, Mr. Anandha Krishnan said, “This is simple physics. Carbon dioxide and the liquid gush into the bottle with so much force that the marble is pushed up and sticks to the gasket sitting on the rim. This force creates a vacuum that can only be released when we force the marble in.” The bottle’s mid-section and rim are also narrow, preventing the marble from going in or out of the bottle, thus making the design unique and clever.”
Mr. Anandha Krishnan hopes, “The next generation will also see how special goli soda is as we ensure that the quality continues to speak for itself.”
