A joint venture whisky brand enters a competitive segment to woo away marketshare. | |
| With all the talk about India getting younger, trendier and more oriented towards drinks like vodka, it would appear that whisky has taken a backstage in the Indian liquor market. But that is far from reality. The whisky market in India has been growing at a frantic pace. |
| |
| In fact, it is known to be the fastest growing market in the world. On Tuesday, the market saw a new player entering the Indian Made Foreign Liquor segment. |
| |
| Masterstroke, a product from the joint venture of Diageo and Radico entered the highly competitive premium whisky market. |
| |
| The product faces competition from McDowell's Royal Challenge and Seagram's Royal Stag. Priced between Rs 300-400 for a 750 ml bottle, the brand would go national in three months and is targeting a market share of 15-20 per cent in the next two years. |
| |
| The size of the IMFL market is pegged at around 110 million cases out of which whisky accounts for about 60 per cent. McDowell's leads the market with close to 45 per cent market share and the market has been growing at the rate of 10 per cent. |
| |
| While Masterstroke plans a massive marketing campaign and would soon be unveiling a multimedia campaign around a big Bollywood star, the company refused to divulge the name of their brand ambassador as of now. |
| |
| But as Asif Adil, joint managing director, Diageo Radico, puts it, "We will be launching a huge campaign around Masterstroke pretty soon." |
| |
| Royal Stag has actor Saif Ali Khan as its brand ambassador besides cricketers such as M S Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Ricky Ponting campaigning for it. Royal Challenge too has been targeting young consumers with its advertising campaigns. |
| |
| The company is looking at promotional events on the same lines as it has been doing for other brands such as Magic Moments or Shark Tooth. The annual marketing budget would be "adequate" and as Adil says: "For a new brand, we would be spending a lot of money on promoting it." |
| |
| Says Abhishek Khaitan, joint managing director, Diageo Radico, "We hope to utilise the marketing and distribution strengths of both the companies and provide the Indian consumers a good blend of whisky." |
| |
| The market is extremely competitive and has scope for new players to make a dent in the space. But, will Diageo and Radico's new product actually prove to be a masterstroke is what remains to be seen. |
| |
|
| |
