Shivam Ginglani is making an audacious bid to stir the alcobev market. Can the whiskey underdog take on the Black Dogs of the world and find more love for whiskey?
Shivam Ginglani, Founder & CEO, Ginglani Distillers
What's common among founders of a farm fresh milk startup, a yogurt brand, one of the fastest growing D2C tea brands, former Apac (Asia-Pacific) group head of the world’s largest beverage company, and a few members of the famed Onida family? All of them have made a heady move by investing in a whiskey startup brand. Early this year, Ginglani Distillers—the makers of Black Bow whiskey brand—raised close to a million dollars in a pre-Series A round from a diverse bunch of angels.
From Rohan Mirchandani (founder of yogurt brand Epigamia) to Nitin Kaushal and Chakradhar Gade (founders of Country Delight) to Bala Sarda (founder of Vahdam Teas) to Atul Singh (former Apac chairman of Coca-Cola) and Ameesha and Ayesha Mansukhani (members of the Onida Family), all of them are backing Shivam Ginglani’s whiskey venture Black Bow which rolled out in the Delhi market in February 2020, a month before the country went under lockdown.
Why are backers so excited about a whiskey startup? It looks like plain common sense. India happens to be the largest consumer of whiskey in the world. A study by London-based International Wines and Spirits Record (IWSR) in 2020 revealed that whiskey consumption in the country is about three times higher than the US. So the market is big enough to make a splash.
Ginglani, though, has a different take. “The market is ripe for disruption,” reckons the 30-year-old founder from New Delhi. Since decades, the Indian market has been dominated by legacy brands that were launched in the 90s and the subsequent decade such as Royal Stag and Blenders Pride. “There is a massive brand fatigue,” says the first-gen entrepreneur. As a result, there is a waning popularity of whiskey among the young drinkers.
Ginglani’s assessment reflects the ground reality. According to a survey by YouGuv in March, only 16 percent of urban Indians term whiskey as their favourite drink. In terms of popularity, beer and wine top the chart. Around 56 percent and 55 percent, respectively, of the respondents said they have tried it, and roughly a quarter—24 percent and 22 percent, respectively—called it their favourite alcoholic beverage. Whiskey, on the other hand, sees a preference among males, especially GenX respondents while beer finds takers among GenZ and millennials, according to the survey. There are some positives for Giglani. Though 31 percent of whiskey lovers stressed that they would stick to their favourite brand, 56 percent said they are open to trying out other options.
Black Bow—which is pegged as India’s first Himalayan Whiskey—is betting big on this 56 percent