We are making Vodka from India for the world: Blisswater CEO Varna Bhat

Globally, the Indian's vast treasury of flavours has been compressed into a narrow band of masala. But India has much, much more to offer. There isn't any spirit that could say it imbibes Indianness in its very essence. Varna Bhat, CEO and Founder, Blisswater Industries Private Limited, in an exclusive conversation with BIZZ BUZZ, said, "Realising that India doesn't have a signature drink representative of herself was the spark of inspiration that led to the birth of Blisswater Industries and launch of a truly Indian drink – Rahasya vodka - in December 2020." Bhat also shares her journey to grow the brand in India and plans to take it to the whole world

What has been the journey of Blisswater Industries Ltd?

Realising that India doesn't have a signature drink representative of herself was the spark of inspiration that led to the birth of Blisswater Industries and launch of a truly Indian drink – Rahasya vodka - in December 2020.

The idea of Rahasya was to make something that is inherently Indian, and something that we can take to the world as being representative of the sensibilities and aesthetics of our country. The journey started with the desire of creating a product that is premium and distinctly Indian. The intention was to create a product from India for the world with pride in India's rich and glorious civilizational brilliance.

To crack this took us the most amount of time. If you ask anyone what first comes to mind when they think of India – its masala. But India has much, much more to offer. And this is what we have tried to bring into Rahasya, an infusion of flavours that are representative of India herself!

Rahasya is a craft vodka inspired by the mysticism, and folklore of India. Rahasya marries India's heritage with its new, self-confident future.

Our journey has been exciting – from conceptualisation to bringing the product to life and creating experiences for people to try the product – all of this during Covid times. Today, Rahasya is available in 200 retail stores and over 70 HoReCa across Goa, and I'm looking forward to taking this brand across India and the world.

What led you to Goa to produce Rahasya Vodka?

Goa is the hub of alco-bev innovation in the country. It's also the most tourism friendly state - within India and for people coming from abroad. Here, people are willing to get experimentative about the products they consume. And hence, we chose to create the product here.

What steps have been taken to market the brand? What are the plans to market pan India?

Spirits need to be experienced to become popular among audiences – only then will one understand the true story behind the brand. And this is how a brand needs to market itself.

For Rahasya, the first thing we did was create the story and experience we wanted to bring to consumers. If you look at the market, there is no spirit brand that truly embodies the spirit of India – and building this story right was our goal.

We then hosted curated experiences for our consumers (in small gatherings) to sample our product – and people love the story we have to tell with the experience of the product. We show people how the product can be adapted to suit their taste, whilst retaining the essence of the brand. We have been receiving a great response so far.

Do you have sufficient production capacity to meet the brand growth?

Rahasya is a craft vodka and so it is made in small batches. We have the required manufacturing capabilities in place to sustain the growth planned for several years from now. Currently Rahasya is available only in Goa. By the end of 2021, Rahasya will be available across Karnataka, Maharashtra, and few other territories within India. I plan to make the vodka available overseas as well this year.

Do you plan to have manufacturing facilities in different states given the high interstate duties?

As we scale, we may need to grow the manufacturing capabilities but that is far ahead. At the moment, we will continue to manufacture out of Goa.

What other segments do you plan to enter like whisky, gin, rum, brandy, etc?

Rahasya Vodka is our flagship product, and we do have plans to roll out more products over the next 2 years. We want to make Rahasya available in every part of India and take it overseas as well – as a drink representative of our country. We plan to make Rahasya available in 2 countries outside India by the end of this fiscal, as well as have retail and HoReCa presence across Karnataka and Maharashtra as well as some more territories by third quarter of 2021.

Your price point for your brand is pretty high in Goa itself. What is the rationale behind the pricing and what makes your vodka special?

The new Indian consumer takes pride in what is Indian, not just in terms of being manufactured in India but something that speaks of India in its identity. We are now opening up to appreciate products made and inspired by our country.

Rahasya is for the self-confident Indian generation that believes in the premiumness of a home-grown product. Rahasya has been launched keeping in mind the growing popularity of white spirits in India. Conceived with the objective to create a product that represents India and with a lot of careful research on India's ancient traditions, we created this unique blend.

Globally, the subcontinent's vast treasury of flavours has been compressed into a narrow band of masala. But India has much, much more to offer. There isn't any spirit that could say it imbibes Indianness in its very essence. From Kashmir to Kerala, Rahasya instils a hint of nostalgia in anyone who has grown up in India or spent considerable time here. Crisp notes with a refreshing after taste, this vodka is made from high quality Indian grain spirit and best enjoyed plain and simple on ice, making it an extremely sip-able and palatable white spirit in the market. Our pricing strategy is to make the product desirable and affordable to our consumers – Indians are now to paying a premium for a niche, quality product.

What kind of forecasts of your brand growth are you working with?

India's alcoholic beverages market is expected to touch $1,285 billion by 2027 – so the opportunity is tremendous. The market is driven by the growth in appreciation of premium and niche products, increasing discretionary spends, and changes in lifestyle. And therefore, the opportunity for a brand like ours is enormous! The new Indian consumer takes pride in what is Indian, not just in terms of being manufactured in India but something that speaks of India in its identity. We are now opening up to appreciate products made and inspired by our country. This is who our product is targeted at.

Any craft spirit that can live by the promise of quality and innovation is being well received now in India, as consumers like to experience something exclusive and understand how to appreciate it as well. India is diverse, and each state has a drink that is representative of its culture – Goa has fenny, Kerala has toddy and so on. Like Mexico has tequila, Germany has beer etc. there is no drink that represents India in its entirety. And hence we saw an opportunity to create Rahasya Vodka.