Restaurant India News: GOONDA Debuts with Agave Spirits and Energy Drinks, Targets India’s Youth Lifestyle Market

GOONDA, a new lifestyle-focused consumer brand, has officially launched with a two-product portfolio: El Goonda, a 100 percent Indian agave-based spirit, and Goonda Energy, a flavored energy drink line. The brand is co-founded by a team of experienced professionals across beverage, finance, branding, and distribution, along with actor-entrepreneur Karan Tacker.

After pilot runs in Goa and Maharashtra, GOONDA is now planning a pan-India rollout. The company aims to establish a strong presence across both the alcoholic beverages and functional drinks categories, with product design, packaging, and pricing tailored to younger, urban consumers.

El Goonda introduces two core expressions — Silver and Reposado — made entirely from Indian-grown agave. These are complemented by flavored variants such as Café (coffee-infused), Picante (spicy), and Strawberry. The brand is opting for a 180ml flask format to allow convenience, affordability, and portability — an approach targeted at festivals, nightlife, and casual consumption occasions. Goonda Energy will initially offer three variants — Original, Sugar-Free Bubblegum, and Cola. The beverages are positioned for urban, nightlife, and hustle culture consumers, combining familiar taste profiles with distinctive branding.

Karan Tacker, Co-Founder and Marketing & PR Director, Goonda, said, “We didn’t just want to launch a brand. We wanted to build a lifestyle brand that channels rebellion, freedom and the new Indian voice.” He added that the team specifically chose to produce agave spirits locally, bypassing imports from Mexico. “We even cheekily prefixed El to the word Goonda for our agave spirit offerings,” he said, highlighting the India-first manufacturing approach.

Tacker, who leads the tasting panel, also emphasized the brand’s focus on accessibility and differentiation through its compact 180ml “hipster” bottle format. “Cute 180ml hipster bottles that snug fit into your pocket and that too at pocket friendly price points,” he noted.

Amol Sethi, Founder & Head of Sales, Goonda, added, “Goonda arrived earlier this year in Goa and as we speak we are aggressively distributing in Mumbai and Pune. Later this financial year we intend to be in 4 more states and in 2026 we will also expand to serve the Indian diaspora in major markets abroad.”

With a cross-functional founding team that includes Ashish Jasuja (beverage production), Prasad Iyer (branding), Bhushan Khandelwal (finance), and Harshil Vithlani (international trade), GOONDA’s roadmap includes domestic scale-up and overseas expansion.

The brand is entering two competitive but growing markets in India: premium agave-based spirits and functional energy drinks. With urban consumers seeking unique experiences and bold flavors, GOONDA is positioning itself as a youth-centric disruptor.