Royal Stag and Blenders Pride form the bedrock of Pernod Ricard India's success: Kartik Mohindra

Royal Stag and Blenders Pride have formed the bedrock of Pernod Ricard India’s success for all these years, and continue to do so. And as brands, they're only getting stronger. But, what's happening off late, and particularly after Covid, is an accelerated evolution across the board, led by the youth. And because we keep a very consumer-centric approach, seeing these trends and betting big on them, we have realised that the younger consumer looks for differentiated experiences. They do not have a very standard or homogeneous flavour palette. To cater to some of these emerging needs and trends, we introduced two line extensions, with Royal Stag Double Dark and Blenders Pride Four Elements.

The first is a very differentiated blend of heated Scotch malts and the finest Indian grain spirits, for very evolved and discerning consumers who understand their whiskies, or have a far deeper relationship with the kind of whiskies that they consume, endorse or love.

Kartik Mohindra, chief marketing officer and head of global business development at Pernod Ricard India. Image: Courtesy Pernod Ricard India

Blenders Pride Four Elements is a delectable blend of the best Scotch malts from the four corners of Scotland, and the finest Indian grain spirits. All Scotch malts have unique flavours. What makes this liquid different is the air and water in those parts of the country, and their quality of grain. This is the inspiration for the line extension of Blenders Pride, which is crafted by the four elements—air, water, fire, and earth. It's a symphony of flavours and a multi sensorial experience. 

With these line extensions we can cater to the needs of consumers, particularly younger ones who believe a lot in storytelling and want a deeper relationship with the brands. 

Q. What else is in play within Pernod Ricard India’s new innovation strategy?

Our business strategy is clearly marked out. There is a lot of headroom for growth in our core, but there is also a lot of potential for innovative products or offerings to expand our consumer franchise, and accelerate overall business growth. Last year, we launched our own Indian single malt Longitude 77, which we're not limiting to the Indian audiences. We've expanded our footprint globally and will continue to do so.

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‘Made in India’ or ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is something very dear to us. We've been part of the alcobev landscape for 30 years and now we want to make sure that we have a further role to play in the development or the evolution of the alcobev culture in this country.

There are also many new brands in our global portfolio that we will be launching—some would be line extensions of existing brands—over the next three to four years. 

Q. Having been part of the alcobev industry for more than two decades, what according to you are some of the emerging trends in the premium spirits landscape in India?

There are plenty. I have been witnessing the evolution of the industry for a very long time. The previous couple of years and, let's say, the next five to 10 years are going to be the most exciting yet challenging time. Exciting for a consumer, and challenging for a marketer, because the latter has to keep pace with the evolution. But the biggest event that transformed the pace is probably the Covid-19 pandemic, where a lot of taboos associated with this category came crumbling down. In-home consumption suddenly became okay. Mixology became a reality because we were experimenting at home. Wines started making their way onto dining tables as people were experimenting with cuisines as well. People became a lot more comfortable consuming alcohol in front of parents, which wasn't the case earlier. To me, that was a big inflection point. And then, of course, the Indian economic and demographic story remains fundamentally as strong as ever. It is expected to keep doing well in the years to come.

From the consumer side, globalisation is a reality, and media and social media have just made the world a smaller place. What's being consumed in New York, for instance, is available to everyone in India, and the younger consumer doesn't want to be left behind the global trends. And to me, this is the time for India to really shine.

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Premiumisation has become a strong reality. People want to consume responsibly, but they want to consume quality. It's more about enjoyment. It's more about different occasions and different flavours, so on and so forth. 

Q. What is Pernod Ricard India’s plan towards climate protection and sustainability, since whiskey-making takes so much from the environment? 

Our manufacturing team is ensuring that year after year we significantly reduce our carbon footprint and water consumption, engaging in water recycling, etc. About two years ago, we took the step to remove all the gift boxes on all our products and plans as those boxes were depleting natural resources and leading to more carbon footprint. We told our teams that even if we face short term losses, so be it. We were proud of this step, and many countries and companies in the alcobev space are doing the same. 

Q. What is Pernod Ricard's vision for India in the coming years?

The fundamentals of the Indian economy are very strong. We have a very young consumer base, and consumerism itself is on the rise. People do believe in pampering themselves a lot more than the earlier generations. There's a lot more monetary security compared to previous generations. All these factors are leading to a lot of growth. With the demolition of social taboos, women are now expressing themselves in alcohol. They have a unique and diverse flavour palette, and so we’ve seen the emergence of many new categories. It was predominantly whiskey earlier, and now there is the emergence of wines. We do believe that the growth story in India is yet to really fructify. Unlike many other countries, there's still huge headroom for growth in India. We believe that India will remain one of the fastest growing markets in the world, and therefore, with it the requisite amount of future-facing investments will be considered.

Q. What are your thoughts on the Indian premium whiskey market and how do you see it evolving?

We do believe that premiumisation is on the rise and we will be focusing on the upper end of our portfolio. We're hoping to see a lot of emerging markets from smaller towns. We believe we are in the right place and have the best portfolio. We can only arm it further with innovations that we have in mind, and we do believe that we are poised to capture a greater than fair share of this growth. And that's not all. We believe we have a big opportunity in international markets as well, with a lot of our home-grown brands seeing a lot of traction and a great consumer franchise expansion in several international markets.