On 50th anniversary, Thums Up wipes the slate clean to launch XForce

Summer’s coming, and the race among beverage brands for attention has officially begun. With new campaigns, limited drops, and influencer blitzes crowding timelines, standing out is harder than ever. But this week, Thums Up — India’s iconic cola brand — did something no one saw coming.

With its 50th anniversary around the corner, Thums Up wiped its entire Instagram clean. No warning, no teaser, just a digital blank slate. Then, it dropped something new: Thums Up XForce, a no-sugar variant that promises the same strong taste the brand is known for — but without the sugar.

The launch wasn’t just about the product. It was about repositioning. With the bold black can, the new “All Thunder, No Sugar” tagline, and a sharp focus on self-driven, limit-pushing consumers, Thums Up XForce is clearly targeting a younger, health-conscious market. But the bigger play here may be how the brand is reintroducing itself for the next 50 years.

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For a brand with decades of history, deleting all 1,600+ posts from Instagram is not just a refresh — it's a statement. The brand has historically leaned on its strong offline presence and traditional media muscle. But as younger audiences move to digital-first interactions, this move signals an intent to reconnect — on their terms.

Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, sees the wipeout as a strategic pivot rather than a gimmick.
“With just 67,000 followers, Thums Up’s digital presence wasn’t matching its cultural stature,” he said. “A lot of their content felt transactional — too many influencers, not enough brand voice. There are smaller D2C brands doing much more with far less.”

He adds, “This feels like a rethink. The kind that’s necessary when a legacy brand wants to speak a new language. And when it comes to scale, Thums Up is still unmatched — it just needed a reset.”

Pre-Booking Like a Smartphone

The innovation didn’t stop at Instagram. Thums Up partnered with Zepto to roll out XForce through a pre-booking feature — something usually reserved for tech gadgets or concert tickets, not soft drinks.

The move allowed users to secure their cans ahead of the official retail launch, creating urgency and exclusivity. It also marked Zepto’s first foray into pre-booking — a feature built from scratch for this very launch.

“The demand was overwhelming even before the product hit shelves,” said Kaivalya Vohra, Co-Founder of Zepto. “That made it the perfect moment to test a feature like this. We're not just delivering beverages fast — we're creating new ways to shop. This launch proves that.”

Staying Bold Without the Sugar

At its core, Thums Up XForce is a bet on taste. The no-sugar cola promises to deliver the same punchy flavor and high fizz the brand is known for, but without the sugar content. It’s not the first sugar-free cola on the market — but it’s the first from Thums Up.

“Thums Up has always stood for boldness,” said Sumeli Chatterjee, Category Head – Sparkling Flavours, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia. “With XForce, we’re pushing that identity further. It’s not just about removing sugar. It’s about keeping everything else — the intensity, the kick — exactly the same. Partnering with Zepto helped us deliver that experience first to our most engaged, tech-savvy consumers.”

What’s Next?

As the rollout continues, and retail shelves stock up with the new variant, the brand's next challenge will be translating this moment into sustained momentum — both online and offline. But for now, Thums Up has done something rare for a legacy brand: it’s hit reset — and made people look twice.

After all, in a season full of noise, sometimes silence — or a blank Instagram feed — is the boldest move of all.