American whiskey segment growing faster than other premium whiskeys, says top executive of company that owns Jack Daniel’s

Siddharth Wadia, head of Brown Forman for India, Middle East and North Africa.

In the late 1990s, Jack Daniel’s’ only clients in India were the United States embassy and consulates. It was not available at any five-star hotel in the country and selling even 100 cases was a tough ask. The tide started turning for Brown Forman India, which owns Jack Daniel’s, Finlandia, and Woodford Reserve, among other brands, in the early 2000s. That was when Jack and cola became a thing among the young and the brand acquired the halo of coolness. The people at Brown Forman India also smartly allied the brand with rock music and motorcycles and stayed away from getting all snooty.

Today, the iconic Tennessee whiskey, which is sold in over 170 countries, is the largest-selling American whiskey in India.  Imported whiskey may account for just 2 percent of the overall consumption by volume in India, but the interesting thing is that Jack Daniel’s is also among the largest-selling imported whiskeys in the country, ahead of several Scottish stalwarts. Last year, the Kentucky-based Brown Forman Corporation picked India as one of the markets for increased investment as part of its global strategy 2025.

In an interview to Moneycontrol, Siddharth Wadia, director and general manager for India, Middle East and North Africa for Brown Forman, talks about how the company has been handling the coronavirus crisis, the rise of off-premise sales and a potential gin launch. Edited excerpts:

How has Brown Forman been handling the COVID-19 crisis, both internationally and in India? The company recently reported subdued profits for the last quarter. 

At a global level, it is indeed heartening to see Brown-Forman’s underlying top-line growth in the first half of fiscal 2021. For the second quarter, the company’s reported net sales were essentially flat (+4 percent on an underlying basis) compared to the same prior-year period. We are seeing improvement in our business results month-on-month (In India) and are hopeful that things will only improve from here on, given the decline in the number of COVID-19 infections and the recently initiated vaccination drive.

Where do you see growth coming from this year, given that, while we will hopefully not encounter more lockdowns, hospitality and travel retail will be under pressure?  

As India’s vaccination drives picks up pace and as more countries vaccinate their citizens, hospitality and travel retail should improve. However, the recovery in these two channels is anticipated to be gradual and country specific. Off-premise has emerged as the key channel during this period, as people are still not comfortable visiting on-premise stores. Another channel which is still very small but holds promise for the future for our category is e-commerce and online aggregators. Some states have been progressive and allowed e-commerce and online aggregators to deliver alcohol to consumers to promote social-distancing measures within the physical stores.

Where does India fit into Brown Forman's 2025 strategy, and what will the increased investment translate into?

India has been identified as one of the key emerging markets for Jack Daniel's. The brand enjoys a preeminent status and we have been able to achieve considerable growth over the past few years, making it the highest-selling American whiskey in the country.

Woodford Reserve, our super-premium bourbon whiskey, has its own following in India. It is still a small part of our overall portfolio but it is growing at double digit. Overall, the American whiskey segment in India is growing faster than other premium whiskey segments. Increasingly, consumers are upgrading to international spirits and are now looking for enhancing their repertoire for newer expressions of whiskey.

There is a fair bit of action in the premium gin segment. Do we see Fords Gin on its way here?

It is true that the gin market in India is getting a lot of interest. We are evaluating our portfolio options very closely and will bring Fords Gin to India at the opportune moment.