Moet Hennessy unveils its ‘X’ factor

By Spiritz Desk 19 Apr 2022 in Cover Story

New Update

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The newly-launched single malt X by Glenmorangie is going to be a game changer. The premium liquid is recently launched in India. Moët Hennessy has a very strong role to play in marketing the product because they know how to curate wonderful experiential events, says Smriti Sekhsaria, Marketing Head, Moët Hennessy India, while talking to Shalini Kumar.

Yes, it is official. Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton (LVMH) owned Glenmorangie has recently unveiled X by Glenmorangie, a new single malt Scotch whisky especially made for the India’s market.

This mixing liquid was crafted with intense participation of top global bartenders. On the eve of the launch of X by Glenmorangie in Delhi, Smriti Sekhsaria, Marketing Head, Moët Hennessy India, unveiled the company’s strategy to carry X to its potential consumers in India.

Consumers are Becoming Experimental

As the Marketing Head of Moët Hennessy India, Smriti keeps a track of changing consumers’ preferences and consumption patterns and she is happy to find that Indian consumers are extremely open to experimenting.

“The consumers have changed now,”
observes Smriti, and they no longer stick to one particular category. “People may have lunch with wine and maybe in the evening they drink cocktails and at night move to a neat dram of single malt,” she explains further to substantiate her point.

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“In the light of these changed market environment, we thought of bringing a new single malt which is more suitable for mixing. This kind of product was missing in the single malt portfolios. Dr. Bill Lumsden, Head of Distilling & Whisky Creation, has endorsed X by Glenmorangie
as best suitable for mixing in cocktails,”
elaborates Smriti.

Marketing Strategy

Since the choice of Glenmorangie depends on the mood and occasion, the consumers have a variety to choose from: The Original, The Signet and The Lasanta. And, at times, a consumer may opt to go for easy-to drink X by Glenmorangie.

Smriti says that the interesting part is that at times while the consumer is the same, his/ her choice may vary according to the mood, ambience, time and occasion. She reveals, “Our marketing strategy for X essentially focuses on two segment of audiences; the first being those who are consuming whisky for the first time and the second are consumers, who are familiar with whisky”

Home Consumers

Smriti is well aware of the challenge of being able to reach home consumers and cash in on an opportunity to innovate when it comes to the digital medium. “And, today if you think about the digital first audience, they are at home, educating themselves on media as well as consuming online content. This brings about an interesting possibility of what one could do on digital and how you can engage with audiences at home through the digital medium. The digital medium is a great opportunity for us to engage with them,” she adds.

Home Appreciation Sessions

As a natural next step, she thinks that home appreciation sessions are a great idea to execute. “We are a little conscious about it since there are hygiene and safety norms in place, which consumers will have to follow. Hence, home appreciation sessions and other such occasions might not be relevant today but may be a year later it will be feasible to capitalise on them,’’ she opines.

For giving consumers great experiences, the company is looking for curated and experiential events outside the home as well, where Moët Hennessy has a very strong role to play. “This is because we do know how to curate wonderful experiential events. It is here that we would like to continue to establish our presence,” asserts Smriti.

Emerging Channels

Talking about some emerging channels, she went on to explain that how an e-commerce platform has been developed in some markets, like in West Bengal. “However, I do not have a clear understanding regarding this. But i know it is a highly regulated domain and requires stringent legal compliances. Of course, it is a channel we are going to explore at some point of time but not yet,” she discloses.

“And, for a product like Glenmorangie, we also tied up with a partner named Svami late last year where they curated mixers for our three spirits brands-Hennessey, Belvedere and Glenmorangie. These measures allow consumers to be more experimental in their homes and it is one big part of our strategy,” explains the marketing expert.