Bacardi hunts for a brown brand for India  ( January '4,2001, FE)

Bacardi Global has decided to focus on the Indian market in view of the country's size and growth potential in terms of spirit consumption.Bacardi-Martini India marketing controller Mr Ashish Misra told The Financial Express that the company was currently in the ``investment phase'' in India. The brand's entry into the country was quite recent when compared to other Asian countries where the brand had a presence for many years, he added.

``Bacardi is doing well in tiger economies including Thailand and Hong Kong and we see India as an important and crucial market in terms of volumes,'' he said. Mr Misra said Bacardi would introduce new brands in India from its own international portfolio by March.

``We are currently in the process of deciding on the new brand for India. It could even be a buy-out of another brand of our own brown spirit,'' he said. The new Bacardi brand was likely to be the brown spirit of Rs 275 since this segment -- which accounted for 80 per cent of the total liquor industry -- required better quality, he said. Bacardi also has Bacardi Breesers-a carbonated, ready-to-drink rum-based product in various flavours. According to Mr Misra, in India, the company would focus on image driving,recruiting new consumers and various awareness programmes besides Internet initiatives.

Currently, Bacardi is on the sites of contests2win, hungama, yahoo india and cricketnext. Bacardi's white run Carta Blanca would remain its flagship product. ``We will look at every avenue of trade including retail and corporate to promote the flagship brand,''he said. On post-WTO competition and dumping, Mr Misra said the brand would have an edge on competition as it had manufacturing facility in the country and hence the price advantage. ``Some might flirt with other brands, but loyalty customers will come back to us," he said.