Non-alcoholic beverage maker Svami aims to penetrate deeper into existing geographies

WOX Energy Drinks, a  global energy drink brand, has announced that its Classic Edition energy drink generated INR 10 crore in gross revenue within a single quarter of its launch in India.

''We are pleased by the incredible response that our Classic Edition energy drink has received across India. We will remain committed to providing the best products and services to our customers and are grateful for their persistent support towards our brand,'' said Ajay Arora, COO, WOX.

BCS Globals, the parent company of WOX Energy Drinks, offers a diverse range of energy drinks, including Absolute Black, BCAA, and Zero Edition.

The brand has established a unique position in over 10 countries worldwide, consistently delivering high-quality products that meet rigorous global standards.

BCS Globals' team has reported that the global energy drink market is currently valued at a substantial $8 billion, experiencing a steady Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7%.

Customers can now find the Classic Edition of WOX Energy Drinks at nearby stores throughout India.
 

Keventers, a renowned Indian Dairy brand popular for its milkshakes and ice-creams, is introducing a new range of products called "Sparkling Iced Beverages" in five different flavors, including Aam Panna, Kala Khatta, Spiced Chai, Classic Lemon Iced Tea, and Peach Iced Tea.

This launch is part of Keventers' "Coolest Summer Campaign," aimed at fulfilling customers' need for refreshing drinks during the summer season. 

“Our product portfolio has expanded across the past few years to reflect contemporary trends. Our focus has been on identifying consumer preferences and bringing an innovative approach to our products. Fizzy drinks are a large category in India, and we have attempted to bring a disruptive approach to it by introducing familiar and favorite Indian flavors in a refreshing packaging.” said Mr Agastya Dalmia, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

The Iced Beverages range offers popular Indian flavors like Aam Panna and Kala Khatta, which have a balanced sweet and tangy taste that suits the Indian palate.

These drinks are a tribute to the happy moments in life, and they come in a fizzy and refreshing format. With five different flavors, they are perfect for beating the heat during the Indian summer.

The range also includes a Spiced Chai flavor, which is a cool and spicy twist on traditional tea. Additionally, there are two classic flavors, Lemon Iced Tea and Peach Iced Tea, which are sure to bring happiness with every sip. Overall, these beverages capture the essence of the brand's tagline, "It's a whole lotta fizz and a whole lotta fun."

As part of the company's expanding product line, these drinks will be available in select Keventers outlets across India. They come in both regular and medium-sized Keventers bottles and are priced starting from Rs.159.

Artist, Designer and illustrator, Param Sahib is known for his quirky, offbeat design sensibilities. Jade Forest partners with him to create a one-of-a-kind limited edition label that captures the essence of India.

The label is dedicated to the soul of India, its various colours, components and hues that define our diversity. 

“Art has the power to bring communities together. Be it a social message for a cause, or simply narrating a story, it gives a freshness and purity to the delivery of a message. We see this collaboration with Param as a way to tell a shared story and to inspire belongingness,” shared Punweet Singh, Co-Founder at Jade Forest.

The thought behind this collaboration is a simple one; differences should encourage diversity, not divide.

“The idea behind this label was to capture the colours, elements and hues that represent the diversity of India. When one looks at this bottle, I want them to think - 'India'. This campaign with Jade Forest is unique because while a lot of focus is given to Pride month and working with people from the community around this time, this campaign talks about inclusivity for people from all walks of life,” added Param Sahib.

Through this campaign, Jade Forest aims to truly make a difference in the community, and not only be a messenger of social change. A part of the proceeds from the sale of the Limited Edition Ginger Ale will be donated to Naz Foundation, a non-profit that works in the field of empowering the LGBTQIA+ community & adolescent children with HIV from economically marginalized communities.

These limited edition bottles, priced at INR 99, will be sold exclusively on the Jade Forest website.

One of the leading Australian wine brand, Jacob’s Creek announced the launch of Unvined, a non-alcoholic wine with less than 0.5% alcohol, available in two varietals - Riesling and Shiraz. 

The winemakers at Jacob’s Creek use sophisticated technology which removes alcohol whilst capturing most of the original aromas and flavours of the wine.

The Unvined range has 50% less calories than regular wine of the same varietal, catering to the evolved consumer base looking for varied options to suit their preferences and mood.

“Non-alcoholic wine may sound counterintuitive and something out of the ordinary, however sometimes it’s exactly what the evening calls for. The idea behind creation of Unvined was to ensure that everyone is able to celebrate important life moments with their friends and family in a way that fits with their lifestyle. Given Jacob’s Creek’s vast expertise in winemaking, we have created a product that has a perfect balance of taste while preserving the natural grape profile. We are proud to release Unvined in India. It is an exceptional product with less than 0.5% alcohol and a faithful expression of premium wines from Australia,” shared Kartik Mohindra, Chief Marketing Officer, Pernod Ricard India.

Unvined Riesling and Shiraz are available in select retail outlets in Delhi and Mumbai and pan-India through Amazon India at INR 900.

Anheuser Busch InBev India (AB InBev) today announced the launch of Budweiser Beats– marking its debut in the non-alcoholic energy drink category.

The launch of Budweiser Beats reinstates the company’s commitment to offer more choice to consumers across the country.

Budweiser Beats is now available on India’s Amazon, Grofers, Big Basket, Swiggy Instamart, leading modern retail and department stores across the country at Rs.90 for a 250 ml can.

“We are delighted to introduce Budweiser Beats in India, marking our entry in the energy drink category. Budweiser continues to be one of the fastest-growing premium brands in the country, and we are thrilled to introduce the first energy drink from Budweiser globally in India,” said Kartikeya Sharma, President – India & South East Asia, AB InBev.

Produced using world-class quality standards and processes, Budweiser Beats strives to build on AB InBev’s promise of delivering the highest quality non-alcoholic products to consumers.

Budweiser Beats contains natural caffeine and B-vitamins, formulated to offer consumers a superior taste and drinking experience.

Non-alcoholic beverage brand Svami has announced the launch of 2 Cal Cola, India’s homegrown premium cola and Svami Salted Lemonade.

Recognized for innovations in the beverage industry since its inception, the brand has triumphantly established a name and has built credibility for itself in the industry.

With the launch of two classic beverages and noteworthy category expansions, the brand has embarked on a journey to disrupt the Indian beverage market and become India's most diverse range of non-alcoholic beverages.

"Svami has been spearheading the category of mixers and non-alcoholic drinks for adults. Our portfolio is now very comprehensive and caters to mixers and ready-to-drink products at all occasions. The Salted Lemonade and 2 Cal Cola are the most versatile and the most affordable drinks in our portfolio,” shared Sahil Jatana, Co-founder, Svami by pointing that it is also a very affordable alternative to fresh lime sodas at bars and restaurants.  And 2 Cal Cola is perhaps the best tasting option for all the diet colas out there. Both these products can be enjoyed by themselves or mixed with spirits."

With this new addition the brand is reinventing the classics by giving it a healthy and natural twist. Unlike many other variants of the same flavours available in the market, the 2 Cal Cola possesses zero sugar, while the Svami Salted Lemonade is made with natural lemons and contains low sugar.

A keto-friendly drink with zero synthetic/artificial flavours, it is the best option for guilt-free consumption.

The Svami Cola and the Svami Salted Lemonade are retailed at INR 65 respectively.

Tonic-water brand Svami has introduced a range of non-alcoholic ready to drink products.

After disrupting the mixer category, it's the next evolution and step in Svami's journey to launch a new product category. 

The first three products in this line are; Non-alcoholic Rum & Cola, Non-alcoholic Gin & Tonic and Non-alcoholic Pink Gin & Tonic.

“From day one, Svami has been about great tasting drinks. We have always believed that you do not necessarily need to have alcohol in a drink to make it complex and enjoyable and that’s what we have created with our new range. These are also great options to consume anytime so you are not just limited to sugary colas and packaged juices,” said Aneesh Bhasin, Co-founder of Svami.

Created with impeccable flavors and botanicals, these products offer complexity and great taste but are entirely alcohol-free.

In true Svami fashion, complete R&D was done in house, and it took months to arrive at these products. 

“There are a lot of people who do not consume alcohol, there are people who just want to take a break from alcohol and some who might want to stop after their first drink. We are offering a new alternative to all such people,” added Bhasin.

Svami Drinks, the non-alcoholic beverage maker, has secured Rs 7.5 crore in its pre-Series A round of funding from a mix of institutional and individual investors.

The pre-Series A funding round was led by Rukam Capital Trust, a Delhi-based early-stage venture capital firm. The round has also seen participation from Niren Shah, Managing Director of Norwest Venture Partners India, and Ashish Chand’s family office Yukti Securities.

Sahil Jatana, Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Svami, stated, “We started Svami to create premium aerated beverages that did not exist in the country. Since the launch, we have seen massive product acceptance across retail and HoReCa (Hotel/Restaurant/Café), and are now capitalising on our first-mover advantage. The overall F&B ecosystem in India is seeing an evolution, consumers are a lot more discerning and restaurants want to match up to that.”

The fresh capital will be utilized by the startup for deeper penetration into existing markets and foray into new territories. The funds will also be used for new product development, increasing production capacity and hiring professionals.

Archana Jahagirdar, Managing Partner, Rukam Capital Trust, said, “The founders’ zeal and the product impressed us the most. With increased demand, bar menus now feature global and home-grown liquor brands that need premium mixers to go with them. We look forward to working with the founders to drive their next phase of growth.”

In August 2018, Svami, owned and operated by Foxtrot Beverages Pvt Ltd, had raised an angel round led by Singapore-based VC fund RB Investments.

Portfolio of Svami

Launched in January 2018, Svami Drinks was started by Jatana, Rahul Mehra and Aneesh Bhasin. Apart from the aerated category, the brand also manufactures tonic waters in India.

At present, Svami has five products in the market, including original tonic water, light tonic water, cucumber tonic water, grapefruit tonic water, and the recently launched ginger ale. 

The startup claims that more than half a million drinks have been consumed since the launch of the brand. 

Aneesh Bhasin, Co-Founder of Svami, stated, “All product recipes are curated in-house, along with bottling and packaging.”

The company’s beverage portfolio is available at select retail outlets, wine shops, and restaurants-bars across eight states in the country.

Several other deals

In recent times, Coolberg Beverages Pvt. Ltd, which makes non-alcoholic beer, secured $3.5 million in a Series A round led by RB Investments and existing investor India Quotient.

In May, B9 Beverages Pvt Ltd, which makes craft beer under the brand Bira 91, raised funding from Sixth Sense Ventures, the consumer-focused venture capital firm. The company also counts Sequoia Capital and Sofina among its investors.

British Brewing Company received an initial commitment of Rs 100 crore from investors including NeoMile Capital in its first external equity fundraise in the same month.

In January, Grover Zampa Vineyards Ltd and its investor Quintela Assets Ltd acquired Bengaluru-based wine subsidiary Four Seasons Wines Ltd from United Spirits Ltd for Rs 31.86 crore.

Coolberg has secured $3.5 million in Series A funding round led by RB Investments (Singapore-based family office) and its existing investor, India Quotient. Ashish Goenka, Chairman of Suashish Diamonds Ltd, and a pool of investors from Indian Angel Network (IAN) have also participated in the round.

Coolberg was started by Pankaj Aswani and Yashika Keswani in 2016. The brand operates in the premium soft beverages category, catering to those who do not want to consume alcohol due to religious and cultural beliefs and lifestyle or health choices but still wish to enjoy premium beverages.

The offerings of Coolberg include non-alcoholic beers in flavours such as malt, ginger, mint, and strawberry.

Yashika, Co-founder and COO, Coolberg, said, “The Indian beverage market is witnessing an interesting transformation with an increased demand for new flavours. All our variants are unique, refreshing, and new to the market. Our R&D team is strong and keeps a close eye on consumer needs.”

Earlier, Coolberg had raised an undisclosed seed funding in 2018 from venture capital firm India Quotient and IAN’s maiden fund.

Pankaj, Co-Founder of Coolberg, added, “Basically, anywhere you find a cola, we want you to be able to find a Coolberg as well.” He added that the fresh investment would help the company to strengthen its distribution network and enhance brand awareness.”

At present, the brand has distribution networks across major Indian cities, with 12,000 outlets across states including Bihar, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, UP, Jharkhand, Goa, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, and Rajasthan.

Coca-Cola has launched its global brand Barbican in India, foraying into the country’s niche but potentially high-volume non-alcoholic malt drinks market.

With this product, the beverage major is focusing on the youth. The company started pilot project six months back. A non-alcoholic malt-drink is a high energy beverage, brewed in the same fashion as beer or ale. 

A senior company official said, "We introduced Barbican, a non-alcoholic malt-based beverage, in select Indian markets."

Under the pilot, Barbican is imported and made available at around 3,000 select outlets across metropolitan cities.

The entry into this new segment is in line with Coca-Cola's plan to launch more healthier options in the F&B segment in India.

Currently, the company is offering a range of beverages, including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Fanta, Limca and Sprite.

Kingfisher, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken have already ventured into this market segment in order to target the vast untapped market of non-alcohol drinkers in the country.

Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company, has acquired a majority stake in distilled non-alcoholic spirits brand Seedlip. With this, the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Tanqueray gin is catering to a growing population of teetotalers.

The company bought a 20% stake in Seedlip in 2016 through its venture capital arm Distill Ventures, which invests in small businesses it believes have the potential to make a splash in the industry.

So far, Distill Ventures has invested over 60 million pounds in about 15 drinks brands.

The deal comes at a time when the teetotalling trend has emerged in Great Britain, which means that a growing proportion of young drinkers claim to abstain from drinking alcohol. In Great Britain, Teetotalism rose to 22% in 2017 from 19% in 2005 for those aged between 16 and 24 years.

Seedlip was founded by Ben Branson in three spice variants. The brand has a presence in more than 25 countries, including the UK, Australia and the United States.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer, aims to launch two non-alcoholic beers in India. This move in line with the brand’s global push to provide more low- to non-alcoholic beverages to consumers all over the world.

India’s second largest beer company will be introducing the two products, namely Budweiser 0.0 and Hoegaarden 0.0, in the next three months.

Ben Verhaert, Business Unit President, South Asia, AB InBev, said, "For now, the products will be imported into India. Beer is a drink of moderation and as a beer company we need to be able to offer choices to consumers."

AB InBev sells brands like Budweiser, Corona, Knockout, and Beck’s Ice.

Verhaert stated, "The new launches are for those who don’t want to drink alcohol but want to socialize and that’s a way for them to be included in the beer category. However, the market for such drinks is still very small in India."

United Breweries Ltd (UBL), India's largest beer maker, has entered the non-alcoholic beverages segment with the introduction of its lemon-based drink brand Kingfisher Radler. The company has first launched Kingfisher Radler in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Radler is a 100% natural drink containing 30% less sugar than carbonated soft drinks. The product caters to the demand of health-conscious young adults, who are on the lookout for a refreshing new alternative.

Ramesh Vishwanathan, Chief New Business Officer, United Breweries Limited, said, "United Breweries is widening its product portfolio and addressing new consumers and new consumption occasions. This product category, malt-based non-alcoholic beverage, is growing fast in Europe and we are pioneering the effort in India. The product would be made widely available across outlets carrying soft drinks, through our new distribution network for non-alcoholic beverages."

The new product is being launched in three flavours, which includes lemon, ginger lime and mint lime. The drink will be offered in a 300 ml can and a 300 ml glass bottle.

Shekhar Ramamurthy, Managing Director of UBL, said, "The actual market size (and opportunity) of the soft beverages market is much, much larger than the beer market. And there is a bit of fatigue today with existing packaged soft drinks. Consumers are looking for refreshments that are not too sugary and yet taste good."

हैनिकन द्वारा नियंत्रित युनाइटेड  ब्रुरीज़ (यूबी) और हेनुअर बुश इनबेव भारत की दो सबसे बड़ी बियर निर्माता कम्पनीज़ अब मादक द्रव्य प्रतिबंधित राज्य गुजरात में गैर-मादक द्रव्यों को लेकर एक-दूसरे के विरुद्ध मैदान में उतरने वाली है। गुजरात राज्य में सन् 1960 से शराब के उत्पादन, बिक्री व सेवन पर रोक है।

दोनों  ब्रूअर्ज जल्द ही गुजरात के बाजार में गैर-मादक बियर के साथ उतरने वाले हैं। युनाइटेड  ब्रुरीज़ इस सप्ताह तक ‘किंगफिशर रेडलर’ नाम से गुजरात में धावा बोलेगी, तो एबी इनबेव की इस रेस में कुछ महीने बाद जुड़ने की संभावना है।   

यूबी के मुख्य बिजनेस अफसर रमेश विश्वनाथन ने बताया, "गुजरात के बाजार में इस तरह के उत्पाद के लिए बहुत संभावनाएं है, क्योंकि यहां इस तरह के उत्पाद उपलब्ध ही नहीं है। 

यूबी का ‘किंगफिशर रेडलर’ ताजे जौ मिले दूध और नींबू के रस से मिलकर बना है। 

विश्वनाथ ने आगे कहा, "देश का यह पश्चिमी राज्य गैर-मादक बियर के सबसे बड़े बाज़ारों में से एक है और यहां मुख्यत: व्यापारी और आयतक ही अपनी सेवाएं दे रहे हैं। फिलहाल यह बाज़ार सिर्फ आयतित उत्पादों का है, महंगा है, छिन्न-विछिन्न है और इसे कोई संभाल भी नहीं मिली हुई है। सबसे बड़ी बात कि जिसका स्वाद लोगों को रास नहीं, वो बियर मिल रही है।

एबी इनबेव के निदेशक बेन वरहार्ट ने कहा कि हम विश्व के दूसरे सबसे बड़े उपभोक्ता समूह को लिए भारत में गैर-मादक बियर के लिए एक बहुत बड़ा बाजार देखते हैं, क्योंकि यहां कई कारणों से मादक द्रव्यों से परहेज़ भी बहुत अधिक है। हमारा उदेश्य इस बाज़ार को एक दिशा देना है, जहां उपभोक्ता को उसके चुनाव एवं वरीयता के अनुसार शामिल किया जा सके। 

Heineken-controlled United Breweries and Anheuser-Busch InBev, India's two largest beer makers, will soon be in a battle over non-alcoholic drinks in the dry state of Gujarat. In Gujarat, the making, selling and drinking of alcohol is banned since 1960.

The two brewers will soon enter Gujarat with non-alcoholic beer. UB will foray into the dry state with non-alcoholic beer Kingfisher Radler this week, while AB InBev is expected to join the race in a couple of months.

Ramesh Visvanathan, Chief New Business Officer at UB, said, "Gujarat is an opportunity market for this product as it’s a state with no access to alcoholic drinks." 

UB's Kingfisher Radler is made of fresh barley malts and natural lemon juice.

"The western state is one of the largest non-alcoholic beer markets in the country, served mostly by drinks sold by traders and importers. The current products in the market are imported, expensive, sparsely distributed and not supported. Above all, they have a beer taste which people don’t want," Visvanathan added.

Ben Verhaert, President – India at AB InBev, said, "We see non-alcoholic beer as an opportunity for the beer category to offer choice in India, which is the second largest consumer base in the world where the level of abstinence is high for various reasons. Our intent is to shape the category by making it a more inclusive place for consumers with diverse choices and preferences."

Coolberg Beverages Pvt. Ltd, the Mumbai based non-alcoholic beer maker has raised an undisclosed seed amount from venture capital firm India Quotient and Indian Angel Network’s (IAN’s) maiden fund.

According to the company, the raised funds will be channelized to expand business.

Mumbai-based Coolberg seeks to tap into the “sizeable” portion of the Indian population that does not consume alcohol, the statement said.

The company’s beer products come in flavours such as mint, strawberry, cranberry and peach, according to its website catering to the people across more than 75 cities 18 Indian states.

Pankaj Aswani and Yashika Keswani had founded the startup in 2016. Aswani worked with private sector lender Citibank and Keswani was a communications expert at advertising agency MTLB, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

“Non-alcoholic beer is relatively a white space in the beverage segment in India,” said Madhukar Sinha, founding partner at India Quotient.

“While going to pubs and cafes for drinks is a fast-catching trend for Indian millennials, the choice of beverage, especially for people who do not want alcohol, is very limited,” added Sinha. “Coolberg has an opportunity to establish itself as the first-choice beverage for all such non-alcoholic visitors to pubs and cafés,” Sinha said.

Rise in health concerns among consumers and increase in adoption of a healthy lifestyle have also led to growth in demand for non-alcoholic beer, said Anirudh Agarwal, an entrepreneur member of IAN.

Leading beverage and snacks maker PepsiCo has re-appointed Ola’s former COO Vishal Kaul as its VP - transformation. Kaul who had served Pepsico will return to the company starting August this year after resigning from Ola recently.

Suchitra Rajendra, PepsiCo VP HR confirmed the move taken by the company.

A management trainee at PepsiCo, Kaul has market experience in sales and his last role at PepsiCo was as general manager, Thailand.

One of the biggest beverages-maker Parle Agro is planning to boost its sales and distribution network for its existing products, in addition, to launch of new categories to achieve its target of clocking Rs 10,000 crore topline by 2022, a top company official has said.

The city-based company expects to double the turnover of its flagship brands Frooti and Appy Fizz to achieve this target. While the former grosses Rs 2,200 crore now, the latter fetches around Rs 700 crore in topline.

"We are at Rs 4,200 crore now and we hope to be an Rs 5,000-crore company by December. We are looking at doubling this up over the next few years and have set an aggressive target of Rs 10,000 crore turnover by 2022," saidParle Agro joint managing director and chief marketing officer Nadia Chauhan.

"It is an aggressive target involving big plans not just in terms of furthering our sales and distribution network for existing products but also creating some new products and new categories over the next few years," she added.

Its flagship brand Frooti has been growing at 25 per cent and the company aims to double this in the next two-three years from Rs 2,200 crore now.

The mango-based beverages category is estimated to be over Rs 8,450 crore now, and Frooti enjoys 26 per cent of this segment, she said.

Parle Agro dominates the sparkling fruit juices category with its Rs 700 crore brand Appy Fizz, which it targets to be a Rs 1,000-crore brand by 2020.

The company recently roped in Hindi actor Salman Khan as the brand face for Appy Fizz and Chauhan said it is part of the strategy of growing the category and the brand.

"We really hope that this gives us huge penetration as a brand and achieve our goals of growth," she said.

Appy Fizz is one of the fastest growing brands in its portfolio, clipping at 50 per cent.

Chauhan plans to expand the distribution footprint and drive sales with innovative packaging, differentiated SKUs and aggressive pricing for Appy Fizz.

"Over the next two years, we will have lots of innovation and packaging, which we hope to increase our market penetration. Today Appy Fizz is available at about 6 lakh outlets, while Frooti is at almost 2 million outlets. We want to take Appy Fizz to the level of Frooti when it comes to retailing,” she said.

The company has earmarked Rs 200 crore for marketing activities in 2018, of which Rs 100 crore will be invested in Appy Fizz alone and the rest primarily in Frooti.

The Rs 10,000-crore fruit-based beverages market is dominated by mango, and last year the company had launched Frooti Fizz in the fruit-plus fizz category and is looking at other fruits to drive this category.

Parle Agro, which exports to 50 countries, is also evaluating opportunities to locally manufacture its products in some of its key export markets.

"We are aggressively planning to convert some of these markets to into manufacturing hubs for both captive consumptions as well to serve nearby markets. We are looking at the Middle East, East Africa, and the US for manufacturing base, as these are also big markets for us," Chauhan said.

"Currently, exports as a revenue stream is very small for us which is why we are looking some of the overseas markets for local manufacturing. We already have a manufacturing facility in Nepal," she said.

Parle Agro has 12 beverages manufacturing facilities and 56 bottling plants for water brand Bailley.