The word Chambal has for years taken us instantly to bandits, arid terrain and the badlands of Madhya Pradesh. But when you suddenly see a glittering liquid housed in a bottle named Chambal Gin, with crossed rifles as its insignia, you are definitely intrigued with what it holds.
Three years ago, Gwalior-based spirits producer Bapuna Alcobrew launched the Chambal Gin, which was marketed as Madhya Pradesh’s first premium craft gin, inspired by the rugged terrain of the Chambal region. Speaking to IMPACT, the founder Pervez Bapuna explains the logic behind naming their first Gin brand— Chambal, “People know about the Chambal region throughout the country, but I wanted to change the negative connotation used. I wanted it to symbolise a premium product that has come from the region.”
Three years later, in addition to their current portfolio that includes Chambal Gin, Daku Rum, Kali Mooch Beer, Pure Gold Whisky and All Time Whisky, Bapuna Alcobrew has launched another limited-edition variant under Chambal Gin—The Banjara Trail series - Traveller's Edition. Pervez says, “This is the first of many to come in the Banjara series—the one we launched just now is the Western ghats edition with orange, hibiscus and kokum which are intrinsic to that region.”
Talking about the design of the new variant, he says they added a dash of nostalgia by replicating bottles you saw in the chemistry room as kids, the cork is not the traditional brown and its top is bronze which resembles a shotgun bullet, which again reminds you of that region.
While the design and packaging have to hit the right notes to enable a customer to pick the bottle the first time, it is the taste that ensures he keeps coming back to the brand. But with a clutter of spirit brands in the market, some with very strong loyalists nationally like Radico Khaitan, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi etc, how does a regional brand ensure that the consumer switches to their products, “The market is very different today from what it was 20-30 years ago. Earlier people stuck to the same product for their lifetime today people don’t mind trying newer products. Our packaging, name, our blend, everything will keep getting people back to Chambal. Today our products are selling in seven states, it is proof of that,” Pervez adds confidently.
Talking about how they are marketing their products he says, because of the restrictions on alcohol advertising in mass media, they only promote it at licensed premises where consumer is consuming the beverages, be it events or industry platforms like The Vault Festival, ProWine, India Cocktail Week (ICW), Gin Explorers Club, India Bartender Week, Trade Promotion Council events, SIPS Pune and Goa Cocktail Carnival or multi brand events in places like Pune, Nashik, Nagpur in Maharashtra or Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur in Rajasthan et al; as opposed to the larger metros because they believe their story resonates better there. Pervez adds, “It is important for people to see us again and again.” Social media is also an important vehicle for Bapuna Alcobrew.
Talking about their expansion plans, Pervez says, “Bapuna Alcobrew is focused on building a wider portfolio across the craft and premium alcobev categories. The upcoming pipeline includes a premium vodka, a young whisky, a new beer as well as a new rum positioned for the mass-premium market.
The ambition is certainly much bigger for this brand started in the 1980s. Three years ago, if the task at hand for them was to change Chambal’s imagery in the consumer’s mind from Shekhar Kapoor’s Bandit Queen to a premium liquid manufactured in the region; today it seems to have changed to making sure ‘Banjara’ Gin hits a sweet spot with the Gen Z, millennials and the ever growing traveller community for whom the term ‘Banjara’ or gypsy is rather dear.
(The brands that we cover in this segment are not from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata or Bangalore)
