Bangalore
Experts in the alcobev (alcohol and beverage) industry say that gin, traditionally considered in the liquor category, is now witnessing double-digit growth in India, owing to its versatility as a new addition to the beverage among young consumers. is love.
Gin, a distilled alcoholic beverage that derives its dominant flavor from juniper berries, is traditionally considered an ‘old man’s drink’ or ‘ladies’ choice’ and until a few years ago only represented a small portion of the country’s alcobev market. is responsible for. Now according to him, the country is witnessing significant growth.
Gearing up to lead the gin revolution in the country is a group of five professionals, including Gurpreet Singh, formerly head of marketing at UB, Nirmal Rajani, formerly head of sales, South India associate breweries and distilleries, Rohan Patnaik, who previously led. Roles at HUL and Diageo, Raghunandan Balakrishna, former co-founder of Kamatan Farm Tech, and Ramesh Govindan, an MITian exposed to AI and ML and previously worked with PwC, EY and Accenture. Overall the team has over 100 years of experience in the Alcobev industry.
The team co-founded an entity called World of Brands (WoB), and recently launched an all-new gin brand, `Great Indian Gin’ (GIG), under the customization guidance of master blender NJ Menon, who made it an Indian gin. was coined for. palate
Gin typically accounts for only less than 1% of the alcobeave market, while vodka and white rum are 6 to 7 times larger than gin. But in the last few years, the country’s Alcobev sector has been the fastest growing segment.
According to Gurpreet Singh, Co-Founder and Director, WOB, the category of gin has been transformed from being considered as an old-fashioned drink to a category of choice amongst the youth across the world and similar trends are prominently seen in India as well. are going. Mr. Singh.
“India has a new found love for gin and the segment is now witnessing strong double-digit growth for the first time in the country. We look to continue this trend,” he commented.
According to him, the adoption of gin by popular mixologists, pop culture driven by popular web series, and celebrity endorsements have given the segment visibility and credibility, and all of this has resulted in the era of the gin renaissance.
Although there are already many locally made gin brands in the country, the price difference between these brands was huge as there was no trusted brand between ₹750 and ₹2,000 and hence GIG decided to come up with this with a pricing of ₹1,530 (Karnataka). Still filled the gap. Positioning itself in the entry-level premium segment, Team WOB claimed.
For easy accessibility and better market reach, the company also introduced smaller packs in 180ml and 60ml.
Mr Gurpreet further added, “We are planning and actively working to build a complete portfolio in the high alcohol spirits and low alcohol segments. A few more flavors are in the pipeline for launch under our Great Indian Gin brand.”
Hoskote-based Chamundi Winery & Distillery is bottling the bottlers for Diageo’s premium white spirit vodka, as well as their entry-level and premium Scotch whiskey, Great Indian Gin for World of Brands.