Seagram to position as Indian brand

Seagram India, a Pernod Ricard group company and the world's second largest wine and spirits conglomerate, is looking at positioning itself as an Indian brand, that would recognise Indian values and liquor preferences, with the help of its newly launched wine range -- Nine Hills.

The company recently rolled out its wine category in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and West Bengal with two products each in red and white wine categories.

"Seagram is an international brand, but we are trying to Indianise it as far as possible," said Rukn Luthra, assistant vice-president, Seagram India.

For one, the recently rolled out wine category, christened Nine Hills, is named after its winery in Nashik, which is surrounded by nine hills.

The company has also associating its wines with specific Indian dishes to establish them with Indian consumers. This kind of an association and marketing strategy is also expected to make consumers feel that wine is a part of their regular meals.

For example, one of the wines, Sauvignon Blanc, has a light golden colour with pronounced aromas of citrus, pineapple and roses, and would pair well with Indian salads and seafood dishes.

Similarly, Cabernet Sauvignon, another wine product, contains cherry, green pepper and capsicum aromas, an ideal companion for Indian tandoori dishes and mild cheese.

"We moved into the wine category as it is growing fast in India right now, registering close to 35 per cent growth," says Luthra.

"The growth is essentially because wine is associated with sophistication.

Also, people who travel a lot take to wine more than other liquor variants," said Luthra.

Seagram is looking at increasing its winery capacity by 60 per cent every year as demand surges. At present, its winery in Nasik has a production capacity of 10,000 cases annually.

"We are also looking at launching cool airtight containers to ensure the wines are stored in optimum temperature, ideally between 16 and 18 degree C.

This is important as our wines are transported on roads and could be exposed to extreme temperature conditions," said Luthra.

The company is also trying to work out a model so that stock-holding in godowns does not exceed 15 days.