Rooh Afza

WorldBrand briefing

AI supplement

Original synthesis to sit alongside the encyclopedia article below. Not part of Wikipedia; verify facts on Wikipedia when precision matters.

Rooh Afza is a well-known concentrated herbal syrup beverage originating from the Indian subcontinent, translating to "soul refresher" in Persian. It is made from a blend of natural ingredients including rose petals, herbs, fruits, mint, and plant extracts, and is widely enjoyed as a cooling, hydrating drink, especially during summer and the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as part of iftar meals. It is a halal, vegetarian product sold across South Asia, the Middle East, and global South Asian diaspora communities.

Key moments

1906Created by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed in old Delhi, India
1948Following the partition of India, Hakim Mohammed Said founded Hamdard Pakistan to produce Rooh Afza for the newly formed country, while Hamdard India retained production for the Indian market
PresentMaintained as a flagship product of both Hamdard India and Hamdard Pakistan, with global distribution

Rooh Afza faces competition across regional herbal syrup and soft drink markets:

Local South Asian sharbat brands: Competitors include homemade or small-batch herbal syrups, as well as established regional brands like India's Barley's Sharbat and Pakistan's other Hamdard product lines alongside smaller local producers
Global soft drink brands: Brands like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have released limited-edition Ramadan-themed herbal drinks, but Rooh Afza retains loyal customer base due to its century-long heritage and traditional formulation
Specialized dietary beverage brands: Competes with plant-based, low-sugar alternative syrups targeting modern health-conscious consumers, though it has adapted by releasing ready-to-drink versions and sugar-reduced variants

Strong brand loyalty driven by cultural and religious association with Ramadan and South Asian cultural identity
Differentiated by its centuries-old proprietary herbal recipe and halal certification
Faces pressure from low-cost local imitators and modern low-sugar beverage trends

Rooh Afza is a culturally anchored heritage beverage brand with a century-long presence in the Indian subcontinent, building its brand strength on deep-rooted ritual association and trusted traditional formulation. As a concentrated herbal sharbat syrup, it occupies a unique niche that blends cultural identity, functional cooling benefits, and broad accessibility across consumer segments in core markets. Its enduring customer loyalty, built across generations, creates a stable foundation for brand strength that is resilient to competition from both regional small producers and global soft drink giants.

The brand’s strength is amplified by its unique connection to cultural and religious traditions, particularly its central role in Ramadan iftar meals and summer cooling rituals across South Asia. This ritualistic demand creates consistent, recurring annual consumption patterns that insulate the brand from many of the volatility effects that impact trend-driven beverage products. Rooh Afza has also adapted incrementally to changing consumer preferences, introducing new product formats and variants to expand its appeal to younger and health-conscious consumers without alienating its traditional customer base.

Brand Leadership

Score: 82/100

Rooh Afza holds a dominant leading position in the concentrated herbal sharbat category across South Asia, outperforming nearly all regional competitors and retaining strong market share even as global soft drink brands have entered the seasonal herbal beverage space. Its unrivaled mindshare among consumers in core markets gives it a competitive advantage that new entrants struggle to replicate, especially during peak demand periods like Ramadan.

Consumer Interaction

Score: 75/100

Rooh Afza benefits from strong organic consumer interaction, driven by intergenerational word-of-mouth promotion and community engagement around cultural events. The brand leverages social media to connect with younger consumers and global diaspora audiences, maintaining a loyal active community that shares traditional uses and recipes, reducing reliance on high-cost mass advertising campaigns.

Brand Momentum

Score: 68/100

Rooh Afza has delivered steady moderate growth in recent years, expanding its distribution to new diaspora markets and updating its product portfolio to include ready-to-drink versions and low-sugar variants. Growth is gradual, limited by its niche cultural positioning, but the brand continues to gain traction among consumers seeking traditional natural beverage options, supporting positive long-term momentum.

Brand Stability

Score: 90/100

With over a century of operation, Rooh Afza has demonstrated exceptional brand stability, navigating regional political shifts, market disruptions, and changing consumer trends without eroding its core customer base. Recurring ritual demand creates predictable annual revenue streams, while its well-established distribution network in core markets supports consistent performance over time.

Brand Heritage Age

Score: 95/100

First launched in 1906, Rooh Afza boasts over 115 years of continuous brand heritage, making it one of the oldest surviving packaged beverage brands in South Asia. Its century-long history is a core brand asset that reinforces consumer trust in its traditional natural formulation, setting it apart from newer competitors in the herbal beverage space.

Industry Profile

Score: 70/100

Rooh Afza operates in the fast-growing traditional and herbal functional beverage category, which has seen rising global consumer interest in natural, culturally rooted products. It holds a strong niche profile bridging artisanal homemade sharbat and mass-produced packaged beverages, though it remains less prominent in mainstream global beverage industry discourse compared to multinational soft drink brands.

Global Market Reach

Score: 55/100

Rooh Afza is widely available across South Asia and in international markets with large South Asian diaspora populations, including the Middle East, North America, and Europe, but has limited penetration into mainstream non-diaspora consumer markets globally. Its global growth is tied closely to expanding diaspora communities, rather than broad adoption by general global consumers, keeping its overall globalization level moderate.

AI-based analysis can support preliminary reasoning about Rooh Afza's brand value, drawing on its market position, heritage, and consumer loyalty insights, but all derived figures are purely illustrative. For a complete, audited official brand valuation for Rooh Afza, please contact the World Brand Lab directly.

title	Rooh Afza
type	Concentrated herbal, Squash (drink)
inventor	Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed
launch year	1906
company	Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories
slogan	Drink of the East
manufacturer	Hamdard India, Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan, Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh
available	Indian subcontinent

History

Rooh Afza was founded by Hamdard's founder Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed in Ghaziabad, British India, and launched from the nearby city of Old Delhi.[2] In 1906, he wanted to create a herbal mix that would help Delhi's people stay cool in the summer. He selected herbs and syrups from traditional Unani medicine and created a drink that would help counter heat strokes and prevent dehydration in people. An artist, Mirza Noor Ahmad, designed the labels of Rooh Afza in many colours in 1910. Progress in development and refining the original recipe continued all along until the final drink emerged.[5][6]

After Majeed's death 15 years later, his wife Rabea Begum established a charitable trust in the name of herself and her two sons.[16]

Following the partition of India in 1947, while the elder son, Hakim Abdul Hameed, stayed in independent India – the younger son,

Preparation

Rooh Afza syrup is generally served mixed with cold milk or water and ice. Rooh Afza is often prepared as part of Iftar (the evening meal for breaking the fast or roza), during Ramadan.[20] The concentrate can also be mixed with water, which is a common preparation in the hot South Asian summers. When mixed with water, the final drink is a type of sharbat. Rooh Afza syrup is often mixed with Kulfi ice cream and vermicelli to make a similar version of the popular Iranian dessert Faloodeh.

Variants

Hamdard Laboratories India has launched two ready to drink variants in India namely RoohAfza Fusion and RoohAfza Milkshake.[21][22][23][24]

In Pakistan, one of the ready-to-drink variants, called the Rooh Afza Go,[25] is available in a can form. In addition a drink commonly prepared by parents for kids in Pakistan, is now available as a product from Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan, called the Doodh (milk) Rooh Afza.[26] It is essentially Rooh Afza flavored milk, packaged in a 225ml milk carton.