We Have Very Carefully Built This Brand Delivering A Lot Of Aspiration
The liquor industry has been growing exponentially, India holds the position of the third-largest market for alcoholic beverages globally, with a market size of around 35 billion USD and a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8 per cent between 2020 and 2023. In this exclusive interview Kartik Mohindra, Chief Marketing Officer of Pernod Ricard, speaks about the robust growth of the brand and talks about what it means for Blenders Pride Reserve Collection to hit the milestone of 1Mn annual sales.
Excerpts:
What does this milestone of 1Mn annual sales mean for Blenders Pride Reserve Collection?
This means the fulfilment of a dream; So, going back to 2011, we as an organization and the leadership team were trying to identify areas of future growth and we, of course, bet big on the economic success the country was going through, the resultant impact on the consumers getting more and more affluent, adopting global trends, etc. And we had a dream of creating the most delectable product, the best Indian Whisky on offer which would blend two worlds- the finest Scotch malts from Scotland and the best Indian grain spirits to come together with double cask maturation, beautifully curated by a master blender and give the Indian consumers another reason to step up and ride the premiumization trend and that gave birth to Blenders Pride Reserve Collection. In the Alco-Bev industry, it is long and historically considered a milestone of 1Mn cases. It is proof of success in a certain way and in a very short span of 12 years, which have been marred by several years of COVID, and many other disruptions, it remains a fabulous achievement to cross a million cases in a year. It is a massive contributor to our organic growth success in recent years and it just goes to validate our hypothesis that Indian consumers are willing to pay better for a significantly better product.
Please highlight the overall marketing strategy of BPRC. What are some of the tactics you are adopting to stay ahead of the competition?
So, Blenders Pride and Blenders Pride Reserve Collection together, have a very strong 60% market share of the premium whisky segment, which is right at the top end. Blenders Pride Reserve Collection operates in the premium plus segment, and this is essentially a segment that caters to the upper end of the Indian whisky consumers. We have very carefully built this brand delivering a lot of aspiration on the back of the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour which we take across the country. It has been graced by celebrities of every walk of life and today, it stands as the definitive fashion event of the country. In addition, at a macro level, we have Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador, as the face of the young India, and a face of the style icon that she is.
We also look at engaging deeply with our consumers both young and mature with ‘Reserve Nights’ in emerging cities so that we can take our brand experience to the smaller towns and not keep it limited to the metros We have appreciation sessions where consumers can understand the finer nuances that go into crafting a delectable blend like Blenders Pride Reserve Collection. There are digital reach outs across the length and breadth of this massive and beautiful country that we have. So, it is a full-fledged integrated marketing plan that goes behind this product and brand.
What else is in store for the brand, both BPRC and BP in the coming years?
Well, they are both doing well, so we are not going to fix something which is not broken. The only difference would remain that the consumer is a very rapidly evolving set with younger consumers coming in, differentiated requirements and needs from every brand regardless of category. I think the primary challenge would be how we cater to these smaller clusters of emerging consumers, how we keep driving premiumization, and how we drive innovation on the brand. So, we are exploring many interesting new offerings of line extensions, whether it is cask finishes, whether it is palette differences that come in that offer unique and differentiated experiences to our consumers.
In recent years, there have been changes in the marketing guidelines placing heavier restrictions on marketing and promotion of liquor. How have you incorporated those changes and what are your thoughts on the same?
Product advertising is not allowed in this country, and we are completely compliant with the prevailing laws. A lot of our product-led work and advocacy is in licensed outlets where we are permitted to allow our consumers to engage with our brands and showcase the uniqueness of our products. But also, over a period of time, there are brands like Blenders Pride or Royal Stag that have an incredible amount of equity with the consumers at large. And so, we are also looking at how best we can extract value from that equity by entering into different categories other than Alco-Bev using the very strong trademarks which allow a certain amount of deeper engagement with our consumers. For instance, on Blenders Pride, we are evaluating a foray into the fashion space.
What kind of innovations is BPRC undertaking for product promotion?
So, we will be looking at innovations, we will be looking at line extensions that offer a differentiated product experience. Whether it is with cask finishes or a different base of scotch moths that lend a very different flavour output or a bit of peat in there somewhere for that smoky preference that a lot of the emerging consumer clusters tend to have. So, there will be very interesting product-centric innovation that we like to take to the consumers.
What are some of the key trends in the industry and how have you used them in your marketing mix?
Premiumization was a big trend that I spoke about which gave birth to BPRC. When it comes to the relationship that consumers have with brands, it is actually no longer limited to a very product/ functional side of things. Consumers want deeper information about the brands that they endorse. They want a deeper engagement with the brands that they endorse. So, across the board, it is our responsibility to understand what are those supplementary needs that the consumers look for. In a brand like Blenders Pride, for example, the consumer requires the validation of a great product, but also lifestyle so we go with Blenders Pride Fashion Tour. Fashion and style remain a massive pillar in which the brand has been born. As an example, we are also very conscious about the impact our business has on the environment around us. So, less than a year ago, we were the only and remain to be one of the only players out there who have completely taken out the permanent mono-cartons from our brands because we do believe that the consumer cares a lot about the impact that we have on the environment and we do believe that they will in fact, respect us or endorse us even more when we do things like that as compared to the others. So, our product and the storytelling would do the job for us. We of course also have a dedicated effort toward the younger consumers to determine what drives them, what are their needs, what are their motivations, and what are their touch points. They are now consuming more and more at home so how do we make sure that those experiences can be deeper for them. How do we empower them with product information which will then allow them to have a deeper affinity towards their brands.
What according to you has driven this milestone? What has helped BPRC and BP maintain their huge recall value?
I think for me, it's not the easiest to cover 12 years of consistently interesting work but I think there are two fundamental pillars that one can take towards this. The first and foremost is the product. I think here we would salute the master blenders over the years both here and in Scotland who have tirelessly worked towards creating a fabulous blend that is head and shoulders ahead of the competition. Creating that blend is very important but maintaining its consistency of quality and taste, through the years across multiple sourcing facilities that we have across the country is a mammoth task. The consumer at the end of the day seeks consistency and assurance once they have already gravitated towards the brand. So that's a very big aspect and we keep making sure that the R&D team is continuously focused on making sure that the sanctity of our product remains at the exact level that has been envisaged.
The second aspect is that as an organization, we are extremely committed to driving premiumization and investing behind categories of the future. What that really means is- understanding the consumer, gaining those insights, and crafting or curating marketing activities that would make them move towards Blenders Pride or any of the brands that we have in the portfolio in a lot more meaningful and engaged manner. So, these would be two of the fundamental pillars that we would have and of course, the rest of the organizational power with respect to route to market or distribution or manufacturing capabilities, etc. are all supplements that come with it.
When it comes to marketing, which medium gives you the maximum engagement?
As I mentioned previously, I think we are focused on extracting the best value from the trademarks and the brands and this latent equity that we have built. And therefore, we go after brand extensions which don't necessarily have to be very close to the core product but more in terms of the lifestyle that has been created. Those are areas that we're going to be investing in and overall, that could possibly help the brand. Covering this huge country, I think the best combination as per our studies would be a combination of mass media which is still television and an eclectic mix of engagement activations which is at the point of sale. So, for the consumer, that's the only place we can talk about the product where the consumer can have a far deeper understanding of the product.
