UK says cheers to new Indian beer

A brand new Indian beer has had its first exposure to the UK market and, judging by the number of customers lining up for a free sip, it is likely to be an outstanding success.

'Adi Adi' is the brainchild of Kerala-born engineering graduate John Eipe and his Bangalore-based business partner, Pradip Kumar, who plan to start their business by importing two container loads every month.

On Sunday night, their brew was the star attraction at an Indian fashion and business launch at London's Cafe Royal, where eager visitors jostled for a taste.

When it goes on sale through commercial outlets later this month, Adi Adi will be the only Indian-brewed beer available in Europe and a potential rival to the UK-brewed Cobra beer distributed by Karan Billimoria.

Eipe, 40, who cut his business teeth on the Nasdaq telecommunications company Primus, is an engineering graduate from Thiruvananthapuram and a former member of the Kerala state badminton team.

He was the Primus UK director in 1999, when he started looking around for an opportunity to start his own business.

Telesoft was started in 2001 in partnership with Kumar, a commerce graduate from Maharaja's College, Thiruvananthapuram, who commutes between London and Bangalore every three weeks.

Telesoft, which has an annual turnover of £4 to £5 million, was followed by Fonezon, another telephone calling card company.

'Essential Gardens' is the name of the company that Eipe and Kumar have now started to bottle and distribute their beer in the UK.

Brewed on their behalf by Khudays in Bangalore, Eipe explains that selling Indian beer is a completely new line of business for both him and Kumar.

Explaining to rediff.com that he has ample capital backing him from the success of his previous business ventures, Eipe tells of regular forays to London pubs where friends would ask him and Kumar what was the word for 'cheers' in India.

"We replied 'Adi Adi', says Eipe. "Then one of our close friends who was with us told how there was no true Indian beer in the UK.

"So we started travelling back and forth to India to find the true taste. We found one brewery, but it closed down soon afterwards, and then we discovered Khudays outside Bangalore.

"We sold the idea to them and the beer is now ready after six months of preparation.

Khudays, who make Haywards, XXX Rum and Peter Scot, are now committed to sending two container loads of Adi Adi to the UK every month. The quantity seems miniscule compared to the 60 container loads distributed monthly by Cobra.

But these are early days. Eipe and Kumar are fighters with an impressive track record of previous successes. They say they are in the business for the long haul.