Former England Cricket Captain and investor in Ardent Alcobev, Kevin Pietersen, has ventured into the Indian liquor industry by launching  Dram Bell, a premium blended Scotch whisky. Launched in November in Maharashtra, the whisky is set to expand to additional markets in northern India.

“I have a wonderful relationship with India. The development of India over the last decade has been phenomenal, with fascinating growth in different markets. When you see this growth, you see opportunity. To create something spectacular for the Indian consumer and palate that is bottled in the Scottish Highlands, was a quick win-win in terms of decisions.” Pietersen told businessline.

Angus Dundee Distillers distils, blends, and bottles Dram Bell in the Highlands Region in Scotland. Ardent and Robert Castle Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Angus Dundee are involved in the business transaction. The whiskey is classified into two blends: a normal blend and a five-year-old blend.

Dram Bell, initially launched in Maharashtra, has received a great response, Debashish Shyam, Co-Founder & Director, Ardent Alcobev shared. In the first month, the brand received over 50 per cent distribution in key outlets, primarily retail.

“On-trade is a slow burn. It takes a while to get into on-trade. Next are the markets in the North — Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Delhi, because our partner Rajasthan Liquor has distribution in those markets. CSD will come later because you need volumes going into the civil market before we can go into CSD,” he explained.

Shyam also said that over the next 12 months, the company would have expanded to most liquor markets in India. Dram Bell is one SKU, and the company will eventually add more SKUs.

“We might add a 12-year-old and other variants. We are targeting the top end of the IMFL whiskey segment, which is massive; we have priced ourselves about 15% higher than that. We want the middle-class consumer drinking Indian-made whiskies to upgrade to a truly imported product without paying a significant premium. That’s our focus,” Shyam stated.

The company will be adding a few more variants or categories in the current financial year, he added. With Dram Bell, it intends to sell about 100,000 cases in the first year and, to reach a 0.8% market share in the premium whiskey segment.

Explaining that Ardent Alcobev is examining other categories, including rums, gins, and vodkas, Pietersen continued, “With the whiskey, we could create something unique and special that fits the price tag. We are trying to follow a similar trajectory with foreign liquor while also ensuring we hit the right prices. That’s the targets we’ve set for ourselves. We wanted to crawl before we ran, and crawling was the right option with whiskey.”

Ardent Alcobev was founded as a joint venture between Rajasthan Liquor Ltd (RLL), and Debashish Shyam and Jatin Fredericks. RLL operates a grain-based distillery in Punjab and UP,  which is complemented by bottling facilities in Punjab and Rajasthan. It also boasts a wide distribution network, including a franchise partnership with United Spirits (a Diageo company) to bottle and distribute major brands in Rajasthan.

Additionally, they have distribution partnerships with Pernod Ricard and AB InBev for Maharashtra, specifically in Nashik and Thane. The company holds an exclusive distribution right for the Carlsberg brand in Delhi under a franchise agreement with the Carlsberg Group.

Ardent, a start-up, is focused on building a portfolio of “bottled-in-origin” brands tailored for the Indian consumer. It roped in Peitersen as a marquee investor in the company, who is assisting the team in curating the drinking experiences for the Indian consumer and navigating the International Supply chain.

Pietersen emphasized the company’s focus on the domestic market. “If we crack the Indian market, we will be successful. India is a big consumer of whiskey. I see this as an opportunity in India to crack the whiskey market and make a small fortune in this segment. The key is to ensure we do it the right way. We crawl before we run, and we do it with one product,” he said.