lisa Srao, famous as India’s only liquor baroness, tells Divya Kaushik that her in-depth research and understanding of the monopolised and capital-intensive, male-dominated industry helped her break norms and create a brand identity
At a time when in India women could not even think of walking up to a bar to get a drink for themselves, she went on knocking at the doors of distributors with her new brand that promised quality and fine blend of whisky. “People thought I was joking. I had every distributor laughing at my face. Many would not let us through the doors and some even came up with things like, ‘Are you giving it to us for freeIJ’ In the male-dominated liquor industry it was tough for people to believe that some Indian origin women, brought up in UK, is trying to establish a brand identity in the monopolised and capital-intensive industry. But I didn’t give up,” said lisa Srao, chairman and MD of I Brands Beverages. lisa was sharing her early experiences of venturing into liquor industry in India around 10 years ago. In all these years, lisa, famous as India’s only liquor baroness, has braved all odds and her brand has secured strong presence in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Pondicherry, Assam, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh. Plans are also afoot to launch in Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands shortly. I Brands is available in Gurgaon and will hopefully make an entry in major metros as well. “I think we have received a humble opening and have created a strong foundation in all these years. I believe in constant innovation and that helps our brand grow. I want to make luxury affordable to our consumers by creating products that are of an international standard quality margin in terms of blend, design, look and feel. Steve Jobs once said simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. I believe that, too,” she said.
To say that lisa was born with business genes won’t be wrong. Her father launched the Double Dutch Beer in UK. “As a kid I watched him produce the brand, so I had an understanding of the manufacturing of liquor. But I never thought that I would be entering the beverage market while I was in UK. I worked with the best media companies and I moved to India after my marriage in 2003. While I was trying to settle here I noticed the lack of quality international products in India. In the liquor industry, I found a very specific gap in the market. I found the premium liquor segment in India’s mass market completely underutilised, either good quality products were extremely expensive, or affordable products were of bad quality. I kept thinking why we can’t have good quality products available in India at affordable prices. In 2008, I thought to myself that I should bring my dad’s products to India. But when I started researching I realised that each state was like a separate country when it comes to taste and choice of liquor. It was not like UK, the market that I understood very well. The awareness in terms of international brands was less and market was ruled by big players. I realised that getting my father’s products here would not work, I have to create something specific to the market. So, I Brands was created to launch international standard liquor that specifically catered to the Asian market. like every business, we faced challenges initially but the reason why we survived in the industry where new brands shut shop in six months is because we cater quality. We have set standards in packaging and those are being followed by big players as well,” informed lisa, who along with her father credits her husband who took her around the world to get the taste of finest malts.
The reason she ventured in market with whisky is because “eighty per cent of market is whisky in India and I chose the safest thing. Beer market was highly competitive with a very short shelf life.”
She has successfully launched whisky, brandy and rum brands and expect wine soon from her label.
She agrees that liquor industry has changed drastically in last 10 years and women now have a variety to choose from. “Brown spirits are also being picked by women but there is still a long way to go. Manufacturers are making most of the fact that women are preferring premium segment liquor but I do not agree with those who are coming with special blends and flavours for women. Women should be allowed to make her choice and has a right to same quality being served to men. But the consumption of alcohol among women is not restricted to big cities alone, and this is a critical change in the drinking behaviour of women in India,” she said.
On a concluding note, she added, “I believe that there is still a long way to go and my biggest achievement is the acceptability and recognition me and my brand has received in last few years.”