We Are Not Inclined To Become A Mass Player: Kartik Mohindra

Celebrating three decades in India, Pernod Ricard has introduced Longitude 77, its maiden venture into the Indian single malt category. This move reflects the increasing appeal of high-quality Indian spirits, with the new offering paying tribute to the nation's captivating essence, rich history, varied culture, stunning scenery, and distinctive terroir. The name, Longitude 77, draws inspiration from the meridian that spans the length of India at 77° East, signifying the country's global coordinates.

Everything Experiential engages in an exclusive conversation with Kartik Mohindra, Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Global Business Development at Pernod Ricard India, wherein he delves into the details about the positioning of Longitude 77 in the competitive market, the thought process behind creating an experiential marketing journey for consumers during the brand's launch, and more.

Edited excerpts:

How does Pernod Ricard India plan to position Longitude 77 in the competitive landscape as its first ever single malt offering? 

We do believe that this is a labour of love, painstakingly at it, to come out with the best product that the Indian single malt landscape has to offer. It's going to be positioned right at the top of the pricing pyramid. In fact, in a few markets, even more expensive than imported single malts, because we do believe, having matured it for four years in American Bourbon barrels and rested it in wine barrels, the product is duly top of the pile. We don't want to make it mass. We want to present ourselves to the top end of the single malt consumers, the aficionados, the guys who know what they are consuming. And we do believe that product intrinsics are there to support it.

Can you elaborate on the key features or elements that reflect the reimagined legacy of Indian luxury and Longitude 77? 

I think the fundamental vision that we had behind this was twofold. First and foremost, was that we do believe that there is a lot of quality produce in the alcobev sector, particularly whiskies, that India has to offer. Yet we do not get the kind of respect India as a provenance for whiskies or single malts get as compared to, let's say, scotches for Scotland or Japan. And not only us, a lot of the other Indian single malt manufacturers, I think they're doing some fabulous work and we hope that individually and collectively, we can keep maintaining the authenticity, genuineness and focus on craftsmanship and quality so that we can put India on the global map.

Also, there is a very good wave of Indian pride that exists. A lot of Indian consumers are gravitating towards Indian luxury products which have India at its heart. And Longitude 77 is no different. But unlike others, we wanted to stand for what India is all about. India, as we all know very well, has arguably the richest diversity of culture, terroir, people and experiences. And we wanted to come up with a product that stood as a homage to the luxurious Indian consumer, celebrating its values. And that's where the genesis of the name Longitude 77 - it's our global position. It celebrates the cultural diversity right from Jammu and Kashmir, all the way down to Kanyakumari. And that's really interwoven into our brand story. And, of course, we also wanted to own the colour Indigo, which India has given to the world. So, honestly, we are probably the best that India has to offer.

How does Pernod Ricard India plan to create an experiential marketing journey for consumers with the launch of this brand?

I think, it’s still early days. We've just launched in about six markets - Mumbai, Goa, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Delhi Duty Free; we have recently also expanded into Dubai.

Now we are in a great place. And because this is a high decibel ambition from our side, we have had a mega launch of the brand. We unveiled to the world what Longitude 77 is. And the entire evening was curated to showcase Longitude 77, along with the beautiful diversity that India has to offer. Again, traversing stories across the longitude interwoven with the world of fashion, music, the culinary side.

I think it was an event which made any and every Indian really proud, and that's the objective. And we're going to start with this. And of course, we will keep supporting the markets of launch, we're going to keep having trials and advocacy, and we're getting some truly great responses.

How is the focus going to be in the arena of events and IPs for Longitude 77? 

The launch has happened. And because we are not inclined to become a mass player, we want to remain at the top end and drive complete premiumisation. So we're going to go after relevant IPs in the world of luxury, in the world of contemporary Indian luxury, probably do some partnerships with some similar brands of repute, sampling, etc.

How does longitude 77 aim to reflect the superior taste of luxury? And how will this be communicated through marketing channels?

I think what differentiates us from any of the other player is that we have painstakingly matured this in bourbon barrels, four years minimum. And then after that, we have rested it in wine barrels for additional years. So what that does is that gives that very natural deep mahogany colour to the liquid – it has incredible flavour notes.

We are doing this in Nashik and to me, it by design. And we have taken our time with it because we wanted the product to be the best that there is and sort of become the flagbearer of the Indian attribution. And so that's really the whole intrinsic product and packaging mix that comes along. Marketing is going to take along all the diversity and richness that Longitude 77 has to offer. The ingredients are also handpicked to represent the finest of the Indian terrain.

We will celebrate it with luxury, fashion, some of it was showcased at the launch. And that's going to remain the central pivot of our consumer engagement.

How does the brand plan to resonate with the target demographic for Longitude 77 and their preferences?

I think because of our product and the choice to operate at the top end, we are looking for HNIs and above, arguably from the age of 38 to 45, would be the main audience that we're looking at.

We do believe that these audiences, having spent a lot of time with the premium or the luxury end of both blended scotches and 12-year old scotches and above, they do have a discerning palate. And when we represent ourselves and we get into those advocacy tasting sessions, they, having that discerning palate, would be able to recognise us as being a credible Indian single malt.

And coupled with the Indian pride, we hope that they would feel equally proud as us to put it into their bars or serve it in their events and let's say, partner with us to create this grand vision that we have.

How does Pernod Ricard India envision longitude 77 contributing to the broader narrative of Indian luxury? And what role will storytelling play in its marketing strategy? 

I think there's a big wave and led by the central government on the importance of Make in India, we completely mirror that dream. And as mentioned, our product stands for the finest of Indian Delaware, of luxury and the rich diversity that the country has to offer. We've got a great product, great packaging, and now it's up to us to share the narrative that we have with our target audience.

We want to first and most importantly, win in India with the Indian pride. Subsequently, we will see, as the story builds, to go into other markets again, where there is a high prevalence of Indian expat audiences, more skewed towards the luxury side. That's how we envision the future. And truly, we have very ambitious plans on making this into one of our flagship brands.