Preference for flavoured products are driving revival of Indian botanicals: Tushar Bhandari

Associated Alcohols & Breweries Ltd. (AABL) is a major player in the alco-bev industry in India and sort of a one-stop shop for Indian and international brands for premium extra-neutral alcohol, a reliable contract manufacturer for leading players like Diageo, United Spirits, and also manufacturer of its own proprietary brands. With premiumisation as a key focus, the company is also making INR 100 cr investment in the sector to set up a single malt production facility and for that the company has forged collaboration with leading global consultants.“We are moving completely to premiumisation and our own brand portfolio. Currently, 35 percent of our topline comes from our own brands. We want to take that share to 70 percent in the next 5 years,” said Tushar Bhandari, whole-time director, AABL in an exclusive interaction with ETHospitalityWorld.

Bhandari said that the perception about India and Indian spirits have seen a transformation in the last few years. Even European brands have started looking at Indian spirit manufacturers for quality products.

“Today, we are exporting our spirits to Europe which are used in the production of premium Vodka,” he said. Bhandari said that the intention is to make AABL a ‘one-stop-shop’ for anything related to spirits, adding, “We have to think ahead of the curve and preempt consumer aspirations. That is our strategy.”

Revealing the strategy for growing own portfolio and proprietary brands, Bhandari said that the strategy is to have a range of products in every category so that the company can become a “one-stop-shop” for both wholesalers and retailers in the alco-bev market. For this, they are looking to have one or two products both in the entry as well as the premium range of each category.

Bhandari said that by working as a contract manufacturer for world’s leading brands like Diageo, the company gets to learn a lot of global best practices which helps them internally as well. He said that the question of ‘clash of interest’ doesn’t arise as the core competence of each partner is different. “Their core competencies are in developing a brand and marketing and selling it. Our competency is in manufacturing quality products,” he said.

Talking about the consumer palate, Bhandari said that Indian consumers are leaning more towards flavours. “They don’t like anything plain. They want a peated whiskey, flavoured gin. This is ushering the revival of old techniques and use of local botanicals increasingly in the production,” he said.

Bhandari said that consumer education and trade engagement is quite vital with the introduction of new products into the market, and that’s a continuous process. “We have a well-known lady bar-tender, Shatbhi Basu, on board to guide us as far as our engagement with the bar community is concerned. Today, bar menus and cocktail menus are equally important as a chef’s menu in a restaurant,” he said.

Bhandari said that the company encourages bar takeovers in popular bars in key metros to promote their premium brands.