Tag Archives: Alcoholic Beverages

India’s First Homegrown Vermouth Launches in Bangalore

After a successful debut in Goa, Davana Vermouth Indica – India’s first 100% homegrown vermouth, is now available in Bangalore. This expansion brings the brand’s expressions, Bianco and Rosso, to the garden city.

Davana is crafted using a Chenin Blanc wine base and infused with 21-23 native botanicals, including its namesake ‘Indian wormwood’ known as ‘davana’. Available in two distinct styles — Bianco, a light and floral blend with citrus and spice, and Rosso, a deep, spiced, and bittersweet offering — the brand presents an aperitif that’s versatile, elegant, and unmistakably Indian. 

While vermouth has long held its place in cocktails like the Negroni, Martini, and Manhattan, it has rarely taken centre stage in Indian bars or conversations. Davana is looking to change that. The brand is not only looking to offer a local alternative to imported vermouths but also aims to educate consumers about vermouth as a category — as a pre-dinner ritual, a low-ABV sipping experience, and a key cocktail component. 

Adarsh Gadvi, Co-Founder, Davana Vermouth Indica, says, “After Goa, we decided to bring Davana to a market that would spark conversations around vermouth. We’re excited to showcase a new generation of Indian spirits made for the world — but rooted at home.” 

Founded by Adarsh Gadvi and Evgenii Savvateev, Davana took shape after over two years of development and more than 50 recipe trials. The bottle is a visual ode to India — adorned with intricate illustrations of lotus, peacocks, tigers, and the aromatic davana herb. The embossed Devanagari logo on the textured, cork-sealed bottle embodies bold design, artisanal craftsmanship.  

Tilaknagar Industries reports 82% PAT growth in Q2

  • Expansion plans in East and North-East markets
  • TI leverages Samsara brand equity, soon to launch range of luxury products

Leading Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) manufacturer, Tilaknagar Industries Limited (TI) has reported a profit after tax excluding exceptional items (PAT) of ₹58.2 crore, implying a growth of 82.4% over the ₹31.9 crore PAT reported in the corresponding quarter last year. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at ₹66 crore grew 39% over the ₹47.4 crore EBITDA reported in Q2 of the previous year.

Significantly, the company’s EBITDA margin expanded 422 basis points year-on-year (YoY) to 17.6%. Adjusted for the subsidy income, EBITDA came in at ₹56 crore, at a margin of 15.3%, showing 188 basis points expansion YoY. This growth in profitability was witnessed despite muted growth in net revenue from operations, at 5.8%, to ₹374.9 crore due to a temporary slow-down in growth, caused by policy transition in one of company’s key markets, Andhra Pradesh, which has recently opened liquor retail to private parties in the state.

Amit Dahanukar, Chairman and Managing Director, Tilaknagar Industries said, “With retail going private in Andhra Pradesh mid-October onwards, we expect to continue with our industry-beating growth trajectory, achieved through a combination of doubling down on our market share gains from our brandy portfolio as well as our new product launches across categories.”

The company that has a strong foothold in key markets of South India, as well as certain markets in East India, recently launched Mansion House Gold Barrel Whisky in Assam. With this launch, the company plans to further expand into the East and the North-East markets where whisky enjoys an 80% share of IMFL market in the East and North-East markets.

TI’s flagship brand Mansion House Brandy is India’s highest selling brandy and the eighth-largest selling spirits brand across categories, while its second millionaire brand, Courrier Napoleon Brandy has emerged as the third-fastest growing spirits brand globally. The company plans to creatively invest in advertising and sales promotion to provide a meaningful share of voice to the brandy category in the overall IMFL market.

During the quarter under reference the company become net debt free, nearly six months ahead of its original target date for achieving the net debt-free status. “From a peak debt more than ₹1,100 crore in March 2019, to achieving the net debt free status, we have come a long way. This transformation was achieved through a combination a financial prudence and achieving industry-beating profitable growth,” Dahanukar added.

The company attributes the growth in profitability to superior brand-mix as well as effective cost-optimisation initiatives. With the worst of the inflationary cycle over, the company anticipates further growth in profitability in the upcoming quarters.

Recently, the company moved to increase its investment in Spaceman Spirits Lab Pvt. Ltd. (SSL), maker of Samsara Gin and Sitara Rum, to 20% from the earlier 10%. TI will leverage the Samsara brand equity to showcase a robust luxury portfolio, along with its soon-to-be launched range of luxury products.