Allied Blenders on expansion mode

Kishore Chhabria-led Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD), the third largest player in the country's alcohol industry, is gearing up for a massive expansion plan with as many as 6-8 products in the pipeline.

The company is introducing three products this fiscal — including the Class-21 Vodka which has already been unveiled.

“As a first step to our expansion plan, we will launch Class-21 now. It is a premium variant of Class Vodka, which we already have in our brand portfolio. Within six months, two more products are also in the pipeline. After that, we are planning to introduce two products each year for the next three years,” said Deepak Roy, executive vice chairman & chief executive officer of ABD, who owns a 5 per cent stake in the company.

Regarding the firm's growth prospects, Roy said, “ We are already the fastest growing firm in the country with a compounded growth rate of 29 per cent for all products. This fiscal, we are anticipating a growth of about 32 per cent.”

According to him, the company’s flagship brand Officer's Choice became the third largest whisky brand in the world, overtaking its nearest rival during the first six months of this fiscal.

“Officer's Choice is expected to clock a 65% rise, in terms of sales. Moreover, Jolly Roger Rum, which was launched four months back, is doing well capturing almost 8-10 per cent of the marketshare,” he said. Class 21 model will price around Rs 60 for 180 ml. In eastern India, the company’s marketshare is around 18 per cent.

“Across the country, we are expecting a turnover of Rs 1600 crore this year. We aim the growth rate to continue at this rate. The newly-unveiled Class 21, which is 100 per cent grain made, is expected to capture 15 per cent of the vodka market,” Roy said. Regarding tie-ups with foreign companies, Roy said the firm was open to any sort of joint ventures with foreign players like Wodka Gorbatschow, a JV between ABD and Henkell & Co, as the domestic firm has the best marketing team in the country at present.