India is a whisky market and we have big plans for it

Over the past few years, Bacardi has further strengthened its position in India as a premium brand. Known for its diverse brand portfolio, Bacardi aims at bringing superior quality spirits to the market. Zeenah Vilcassim, marketing director, Bacardi India, in an exclusive interview with BIZZ BUZZ unveils her strategy for the Indian market

What is on your agenda for the promotion of Bacardi brands?

At Bacardi, we put consumers at the heart of everything we do. A move from a brand-first to consumer-first mindset has helped guide how we behave and what we do during these challenging times. With safety as our first priority, we have adapted to the new occasions, spaces, and places that our consumers are in. We've digitized our big events, such as the Bacardi weekender festival, so consumers can experience big musical performances from the safety of their own homes. We've created grey goose home delivery kits with on-trade partners to give them the feeling of luxury dining-out whilst dining-in. We even hosted Breezer vivid shuffles' hip-hop finale as a hybrid model where online and on-ground merged seamlessly and excitingly together – with all the relevant safety measures in place. Moving forward, safety is still our number one priority, but we are committed to reignite marketing with innovative platforms, ideas, and partnerships that support our business goals.

How would you like to leverage your experience in your new assignment?

During my time in London as the Global Brand Director for our whiskey brand, Dewar's, I worked on establishing and growing the brand across various emerging markets – India being one of the biggest in the category. India has always been an incredibly dynamic, diverse, and thriving region with a lot of heart and creativity. I believe there is an opportunity for each of our iconic brands to play an authentic role in the hearts and minds of the Indian consumer.

With my background in management consulting, analytics, digital content, and creative strategy, we will fearlessly be able to develop a data driven approach to our creativity. These two are the most effective hand-in-hand and I can't wait to bring a little bit of creative rebellion into all that we do.

Which will be your focus brands in the Bacardi portfolio?

India is one of the fastest growing markets for Bacardi, and we are committed to continued investment for long-term sustainable growth. We have set a clear 10-year path for our brands, which we believe are going to be our best 10 years yet. Given our global leadership in rum, we will continue to strengthen this position on Bacardi, specifically on Bacardi carta blanca, demonstrating the versatility and mixability of the liquid. We will also continue our momentum around premium white spirits - showcasing how a Bombay sapphire gin and tonic brings creativity to any occasion and why grey goose is the luxury brand that delivers on both style and substance. Even a brand as prolific as Breezer will see new life breathed into it with both fun and thoughtful innovations.

Now, it's no secret that India is a whisky market, which is why we have big plans for the whole Dewar's double aged range, our premium malts portfolio, and our rebellious no rules William Lawson's scotch. We have the fastest growing whisky portfolio in the country and have no intention of slowing down.

In this difficult time what initiative is your top priority?

Being a family-owned company, our priority during such a challenging time is the health, safety, and well-being of our primos and the people within the communities we operate in. Internally we also offer our primos, and their families free access to confidential counselling, an informational service helpline, and an internal emergency helpline.

Bacardi India has also donated oxygen concentrators to the Hemkunt Foundation and our global Bacardi team has contributed $100,000 to give India. We have also set up an internal fund for our primos to donate to give India. Both these organizations are supporting communities with the resources and needs to combat the impacts of the pandemic.

What are the challenges you are likely to face in the Indian market?

The pandemic has been challenging for most industries in India and will continue to be so for some time to come. As India is a dark market, we rely a lot on the on-ground experiences to showcase our brands. We will have to be constantly listening to what consumer sentiment will be through social monitoring and consumer insights and understand how we can play a credible role in easing people back in (or out, rather) and ensuring that we are being very sensitive to when the right time is for this.

What do you reckon is the inherent strength of Bacardi brands?

Throughout our 159-year history, we weathered quite a few storms, which have only motivated us to rebuild even stronger. The quality of our liquids, our consumer and culturally relevant brands, and our fearless resilience make Bacardi a force to be reckoned with.

Are you planning to introduce new brands in the near future?

From the sourcing of ingredients to interesting brand stories, to how to make the perfect cocktail, consumers are becoming more and more educated about spirits. We have listened and learned from our consumers and will innovate where we can really add value. Bacardi has strengthened its position in the industry over the past few years by introducing Martini Fiero, tapping into its easy mixability and low-ABV sessionability and Bacardi reserve premium aged rums that sip just as smoothly as a whisky. We'll be looking to launch a few more innovations coming your way soon!

India being a whisky drinking country do you see your whisky portfolio riding on the back of your rum brands?

India is the largest whisky drinking nation in volume so the opportunity to play here is tremendous. We have one of the fastest growing international scotch portfolios in the country (in terms of 3-year CAGR growth) and both our brands, Dewar's, and William Lawson's, are growing ahead of the category. Dewar's is the only Scotch that double ages its full portfolio, giving Dewar's its trademark smoothness. William Lawson's is the rebel in our Scotch family, encouraging consumers to drink it however they want, without any rules. The strength of these two unique brands will be coupled with a strong premiumisation strategy that sees us introduce our award-winning malts (Aberfeldy and Craigellachie) to the market and showcase Bacardi as a heavy hitter within the whisky category.