SLMG Beverages Founder S N Ladhani Passes Away at 85

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) S N Ladhani, founder of SLMG Beverages, the largest bottling partner of Coca-Cola in India, died at the age of 85 on May 2, 2025, at his residence in Bareilly, according to a company statement.

Ladhani founded SLMG Beverages, which now operates bottling plants across Ayodhya, Amethi, Agra, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh—with a new plant underway in Buxar, Bihar—making it Coca-Cola India's largest bottling partner.

Born on March 7, 1940, in Gulam Ghot village of Sakkhar district in Sindh, in undivided India, he migrated with his family to Faizabad (now Ayodhya) after the partition.


He began his career in 1957. He was initially involved in construction work and later entered the cold storage business in Ayodhya during the 1980s.

Around this time, he partnered with the Parle Group to enter the soft drink industry—a major turning point in his life. Later in 1992, when Coca-Cola re-entered the Indian market, the first bottle was produced under his supervision at the Agra plant.

Besides, he also contributed to the hotel, shopping mall, animal feed, and renewable energy sectors.