We Want To Be Perceived As A Premium And Contemporary Alcohol Producer: NeuWorld Spirits' Poonam Chandel
The Indian-made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) market in India is estimated to touch 425 million cases (9 litres each), with whisky having a 60 per cent market share, followed by brandy with 16 per cent, rum with 14 per cent and white spirits with 7 per cent market share, as per a report by Technopak Advisors.
The market has lately seen a spurt in new entrants. NeuWorld Spirits has forayed into the alco-bev industry with the launch of Downing Street and Royal Tribe whiskies catering to the premium and semi-premium segments, respectively. With a targeted turnover of Rs 100 crore in the first year, NeuWorld Spirits is looking forward to garnering a 5 per cent market share in these segments.
Poonam Chandel, MD, NeuWorld Spirits, in an interaction with BW Businessworld, spills some beans about the brand, categories they are launching, price points, etc.
Excerpts:
Talk us through the idea behind NeuWorld Spirits.
We are a startup liquor engine, which we kicked off about a year ago. In the last couple of years, a lot of new brands have emerged in this space. People are experimenting with different manufacturers, taste profiles and price positioning. The consumer is also willing to spend that kind of money for this experience. New players are coming in, and we thought we could also be one of them. So, that is the whole idea behind launching a new company.
How do you want it to be perceived compared to other players in this space?
We want to be perceived as a company which is producing premium quality alcohol which is contemporary and which is for a consumer who is more forward-looking.
Elaborate on the big shifts which you have experienced over a decade and what motivated you to start a venture like this?
I would have developed cold feet if somebody had told me ten years ago to start a new liquor company because the thing is that consumers were very fixated about their brand preferences. People were not willing to go out and experiment.
In the last ten years, there has been a dramatic shift as the consumer is moving beyond that rigid mindset, which is happening across sectors.
The consumer actually wants something that they can connect with. The brand needs to create an emotional bond with the consumer, and once you're able to make it, whether, through quality or your communication, the consumer feels connected. He does not mind giving you a trial, and all that our new brand looks forward to is that first trial.
In terms of product categories, what is the roadmap from here? Do you intend to launch some other products as well apart from whiskeys?
We intend to do premium vodkas, craft gins and other innovative products with very interesting packaging, brand extensions.
We are already working on some very interesting brand extensions, which you will see in days to come where no other player has ever ventured into. We have carefully thought about the kind of brand extensions we want to create or the kinds of properties we want to get associated with.
What would be the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for NeuWorld Spirits?
The USP is very clear - we are going to produce products that are absolutely world-class, very aspirational and very contemporary. We are going to give the best quality which is possible for us.
What would be the marketing strategy in this competitive landscape?
Unfortunately, we get governed by a lot of laws. So, it is not that we can go and we can do it aggressively. But thankfully, there is a lot of noise one can make on digital media to create that kind of a connect. Digital media has become very disruptive and is having an equal amount or probably even more amount of appeal than television or radio in today's parlance. So, we are very heavily banking on the kind of activations that we are going through the digital media to be able to reach the consumer.
What are some of the key markets at launch? Also talk us through the manufacturing units.
Initially to begin with we will start with North as a market, but we aim to cover pan India in a phased manner by December 2023. In India, manufacturing capabilities for liquor are available in abundance. So, we were very clear about it that we didn't want to invest money in setting up manufacturing capacities because we will mark all our money towards marketing. So, we have people who can manufacture, we can buy the kind of quality material that we want and can get it manufactured. We have bottling plants in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh and Dera Bassi, Punjab.
