Launched in the year 2010, I Brands manufactures and distributes alcoholic beverages in India. It is a privately owned and operated entrepreneurial venture spearheaded by Lisa. Headquartered in Bangalore, it has its regional sales offices in Chandigarh and Uttarakhand.
BWDisrupt interacted with Ms. Lisa Srao, Chairman & Managing Director, I Brands Beverages Pvt. Ltd I Brands has four products in their portfolio. Appropriately positioned in the mass market premium segment, the current portfolio includes:
• Three Royals Whisky: A premium whisky brand (MRP: INR 350 – 735 for 750 ml);
• Granton Whisky: A semi-premium whisky brand (MRP: INR 285 – 565 for 750 ml);
• Rum 99: A Jamaican flavoured dark rum (MRP: INR 210 – 330 for 750 ml), and
• Granton XO Brandy: A premium extra matured (MRP: INR 280 for 750 ml).
All I Brands products are currently distributed in 15 states in India, with presence in more than 120 cities across over 6000 retail outlets. They are also exported to Cambodia.
(States: Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir (Srinagar - Paramilitary), Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Daman, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka (Bangalore - Paramilitary), Mizoram, Orissa and Pondicherry).
When I Brands Beverages was conceived in 2008, Lisa had a vision of providing consumers with superior international quality alcoholic beverages that were premium, yet value for money. The liquor industry in India at that point of time was under-utilized with very few players in the mass market premium segment and Lisa wanted to capitalize on this gap.
Lisa and her team invested in extensive R & D for over 2 years. The research was critical to the company, as it helped in positioning the brands correctly. They researched the blend, packaging and segments very carefully and finally commenced India operations in August 2010 with the launch of Granton Whisky.
Taking the semi urban – village route for distribution, I Brands grew slowly, steadily over a longer period of time, constantly evolving and perfecting the products along the way and developing a solid base foundation across states. Although this was not the conventional route that many in the trade had taken before; this key business decision, ensured, a strong growth curve for the company.
Each I Brands product has been designed to be the best in its segment; be it the distinctive packaging with award winning canister designs or mono-cartons with a holographic feel, the embossed bottles that are extremely trendy or the superior quality blend of the products.
The liquor industry is an immensely capital-intensive and in the beginning, I Brands did not have the kinds of funds to play with that is the norm. Hence focussing on semi urban – village route, ensured a 100% growth rate, with minimal marketing spends helping the company survive. Being a new entrant, the team had a hard time getting distributors to work with I Brands. Regulations in each state are also very different from the other in terms of excise duties, licenses required etc., which makes this business incredibly challenging.
Additionally, the liquor industry in India being enormously male dominated, Lisa found it a difficult initially, as the distributors would prefer working with male counterparts. But today things are changing for the better and I Brands has gained market acceptance through good quality products.
I Brands has been associated with an HNI from Bangalore and has received an investment of 33 crores till date. It is currently looking for strategic alliances for an investment that will help take the business to the next level. These could also be associations with global or Indian companies who can help grow its distribution network.
When talking about the liquor industry, the monetization model is quite simple. I Brands works in association with state-government controlled corporations, distributors in each state (in case of open markets) and various defence organisations throughout the country. These organisations then sell its products to the end users thus generating revenue for the company.
Next big plan is meeting the objective of a pan-India presence in the next 5 years. It is working towards launching in 4 bigger states which accounts for majority of the IMFL business contribution in India: Telangana, Karnataka (Civil), Maharashtra and Delhi by end of this fiscal year.
Capitalizing on the demand of IMFL products internationally I Brands has begun exports to South East Asian Countries – Cambodia in the first phase and Vietnam, Laos & Thailand in the second phase. China is also on the cards aiming to begin by 2017. I Brands aims to surpass the 500 crore turnover in the next 5 years.
The main objective for all the marketing initiatives, has been to build a consumer base and drive awareness of I Brands’ product portfolio. The company is focussed on increasing the interaction with the end consumer that would result in building favourable brand salience. The focus will remain on retail marketing - Point of sale activities or Retail shop branding, which increase brand recall and visibility and also other consumer driven activities that would push consumers to buy the products like complimentary merchandises or schemes. The company will also look at activating the brands at pubs, bars and lounges to drive awareness and, trial and acceptance.
All these plans are apart from the regular and ongoing ATL and online activities, including social media. With these activities I Brands aims to create a high level of exposure for the brands and an opportunity of consumer response.
India is the third largest global spirits market by volume in the world, just behind China and Russia, estimated at USD 35 billion growing at 4% p.a. In the South East Asia region, India is a dominant producer of alcohol with 65% market share.
The Indian liquor industry is a challenging industry, yet, the market continues to be lucrative with tremendous potential. Currently India is one of the most attractive opportunities for the alco-bev industries in the world with a growth forecast of 8 – 10% CAGR in value over the next 5 years combined - The global alco-bev market is estimated to be 257 billion litres of which APAC accounts for 94 billion litres. India’s share is 5 billion litres.
The Indian alcohol industry focuses mainly on four types of alcoholic products: Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), Indian Made Indian Liquor (IMIL or country liquor), Beer and Imported liquor.
The IMFL segment market size (All I Brands products are positioned in the IMFL segment) is approximately a little over 325 million cases in volume in FY 2015 - 16, growing at CAGR OF 8 % over the last 10 years. Brown spirits (all I Brands products are brown spirits) accounts for 95% consumption by volume over white spirits which is 5% consumption. IMFL Whisky accounts for around 60% market share, reporting a growth of 8- 9% annually followed by Brandy at 17% and Rum at 16%, while the remaining 7% is from white spirits like vodka and gin.
With growing acceptance of alcohol in India there is an increase in the number of drinkers as well: from 1 in 300 to 1 in 20. The women’s market is also evolving and is expected to grow 25% over the next 5 years. With about 485 million Indians are currently of drinking age and another 150 Million are to be added in the next 5 years, the alcohol industry in India is the place to be.
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Soumya is a young writer and journalist, with bachelors in Multimedia and Mass Communication. She is an alumini of the Asian College of Journalism, and finds politics and sustainability intriguing beats to work with.
