United Spirits to launch feni brand next quarter

United Spirits, liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Rs 3,600 crore (Rs 36 billion) firm, is set to launch feni, the famous Goan spirit, in the branded retail market by the next quarter.

This is the first time a large spirits company is branding and marketing Goa's local brew. United Spirits will be branding this offering as 'Goasol' which means Sun of Goa.

Senior company executives added that they have chosen this brand after much deliberations which will truly reflect the spirit of Goa.

"Goasol which means Sun of Goa is a fitting tribute to Goa which is full of revelry and sunshine. This is the brand image which we want this drink to be associated with," the officials highlighted.

Feni is made from either coconut or cashew apple juice and then distilled further. High-grade feni has 42 per cent alcohol content by volume.

At present, the few available brands of feni are 'Big Boss' (available both in coconut and slightly more expensive cashew versions), 'Cashyo' and 'Reals'.

Feni made from the cashew apple is known as kaju feni (cashew feni). There are known to exist about 4,000 such traditional mini-distilleries in Goa that manufacture cashew feni and about 2,200 manufacturing coconut feni.

Added USL officials: "Given our branding expertise and the national distribution network in place, we should be taking this to a much bigger consumer base. The final touches to our marketing and branding campaign are being worked out and we should be finalising the pricing strategy in the near future."

Vijay Rekhi, president, United Spirits said, "Various regions of the world have built up strong images around their traditional drinks. The Mexicans have Tequila, the Japanese have Sake and so on. It's time we took feni to that level and make it popular. We at USL have taken up this initiative and it should be hitting the market during early next year."