BEAM SUNTORY INDIA on a high growth trajectory

Neeraj Kumar, Managing Director, Beam Suntory India, candidly shares that in the post-lockdown era, shareholders and global leadership are both very supportive and committed to the welfare of stakeholders and are focused on marinating the rich legacy of Beam Suntory brands. Working towards getting ‘a billion smiles on the back of its brands’ the company is keenly working to create brands which work well for the Indian palates. Here is an excerpt of this exclusive Spiritz Studio Talk Show session conducted by Bishan Kumar and Shalini Kumar.

COVID 19 has proved to be an extremely difficult time for the alcobev industry. Liquor giants like Beam Suntory and others are also feeling the heat. So many things have changed and so much has been disrupted all around. But it is seen that long-standing trusted brands with very glorious heritage and known for their consistency remain largely steadfast.

We are custodians of a brand embodying glorious heritage. When brands like ours need to address disruptions, either they would evolve the way they approach the channel or consumers or they may evolve to be able to fundamentally change their DNA. I come from the school of thought where DNA doesn’t need to change,” says Neeraj Kumar, Managing Director, Beam Suntory India.

He feels that the ability to learn and to use that learning by quickly executing or implementing that learning happens to be the key. So, staying contemporary, preserving the DNA and developing learning ability to implement quick actions based on change is probably what he would recommend to his teams. “I guess, different businesses are going to deal with it differently,” he adds.

Markets are Opening

Talking about the current situation, he opines that things are changing surely, and channel landscapes are changing. So, businesses are working together in terms of what will make consumer sentiments stronger to make them induce to come back to bars.

He informs there is already lots of work happening in the markets like in Spain and China. There were instances where things were open, retailers or bars were waiting for consumers to come but the latter were not feeling comfortable to come.

To understand consumers’ mindset, the company has done its research already. Consumers were asked when things open up, how long will you take to get back to your favourite bar- will it be a week, a month or will it take as long as three months or six months? And 50 percent of respondents said it would take consumers between a week and a month to come back to bars.

Market Interventions

Finally, there will be technology and market interventions. It all depends how a bar owner is able to be transparent about the way he/she is serving or creating the drink or food while using innovations like Robotic services, face shields and plastic shields between spaces.

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