Companies dive in for a bite of the Kumbh pie

The world's largest religious congregation Kumbh Mela has created an unbeatable opportunity for companies to display their brands. The 2015 version will start this week at Nashik in Maharashtra with over 100 million people gathering over three months.

Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Vodafone, ITC and HUL are some of the major companies gearing up to tap this huge potential market. This year's mela is likely to generate around Rs 10,000 crore for Maharashtra.

"Call it a brand mela. From umbrellas to ropes, every inch is branded during Kumbh”, Harish Bijoor, a Bengaluru-based brand expert told ET. "Religion and size is a fantastic combination and Kumbh has both. The Hajj at Mecca is also comparable to the scale and size of Kumbh, but there, brands have to be conservative. Imagine Woodstock or soccer leagues in Brazil and the UK, and multiply the scale by 10. That's Kumbh for you."

(Image credit: Indiatimes)