It’s important how you connect your brand story with local consumer aspirations: Jack Teeling

Appreciating the education and knowledge dissemination that popular Irish whiskey brands have done in India market over time, Jack Teeling, founder and managing director of Teeling Whiskey feels that progressive Irish whiskey seekers in India are looking for premium and super premium products which have a brand story to tell backed up with flavours and expressions which the new demography consumers are craving for.

Talking about the products, Teeling—who has set up Teeling Whiskey Company in 2012, and created some award-winning progressive Irish whiskeys—said that the products they are introducing in the India market are “functionally different” from other Irish whiskeys currently available in the market.

“The whiskeys that we are introducing to India at this time is our award-winning Teeling Single Malt which uses a range of unique casks from Virgin Oak to fortified wines of Ruby Port, white port and Madeira to produce a very fruit forward taste profile. And, then a unique expression solely for the Indian market, which is our Teeling whiskey Small Batch Classic, which again consists of hand selected casks of grain and malt whiskey that have been aged exclusively in first field bourbon barrels and bottles. All batches exclusively for the Indian market,” Teeling said.

Explaining the difference, Teeling said that while most of the Irish whiskeys are 40 percent chill filtered, the Teeling whiskeys are bottled at 46 percent and non-chill filtered “So we're producing a more flavoursome whiskey in particular that will stand up in cocktails and will give a tool to the bar industry to present Irish whiskey, maybe in a different way than it would traditionally be able to do so,” he said.

When asked about the market which already has very established Irish brands, Teeling said that the endeavour is not to compete with other Irish brands, but to “drive the evolution” of Irish whiskey to the premium and super premium consumer segment of the market.

“We do that by creating interesting and unique expressions of Irish whiskey that haven't been made or have been made in other categories and bring it to Irish whiskey. I am delighted to be in the market, to be launching the world's most awarded Irish whiskey in the most exciting and fast growing market for Irish whiskey in the world,” he said.

Although Indian consumers are evolving and craving for more choice in the premium and super premium categories, Teeling felt that there is need for proper education at every level of evolution of the consumer market.

“There are a lot of progressive whiskey drinkers in India. They're looking for choice, they're looking for new consumption occasions, be it in the on trade, or off trade in terms of discovering, experimenting with new expressions and any new brand that comes in. You have to deliver on the taste profile, but also connect with that consumer in terms of your brand story,” he said.

Citing the importance of having a right partner to engage with accounts and disseminate right education about the brand in each market, Teeling said that he is happy in having an experienced partner in the market, Bacardi India.

“We are lucky that we have a perfect match in terms of our award winning whiskeys and a local partner who knows how to build the brand in the right way and have existing relationship with some of the top accounts where we need to be able to connect with the right consumers whom we are going after,” he stated.