Maruthi Soda Factory

Maruthi Soda Factory is right on Basaveshwara Street in the Chikmagalur district. If you live around this neighborhood, you know the street gets pretty lively on market days. We’ve been operating out of this specific building for a long time now. It’s an old place with thick walls, but it serves us well for making the soda. Inside, it’s mostly just rows of glass bottles and the sound of the gas tanks. We don't have a lot of space for a lobby or anything like that, so the actual work happens right where people can see it from the street. It’s a family-run kind of thing, so you’ll usually see the same three or four faces every single day. We start the day early by cleaning everything down with fresh water. In Chikmagalur, people really appreciate a cold drink when they are out walking around in the sun. We try to keep up with the local demand, but sometimes we run out of certain types of bottles by the time Saturday rolls around. It’s not a fancy life, but it belongs to us. We handle every part of it ourselves, from the mixing to the capping and then loading it all into the small truck we use for deliveries around the district. The floor is made of old stone and it stays surprisingly cool, which is nice in the heat of the summer. We don't bother with any big promotions or ads. Word of mouth is enough and we just work hard.