Goa turning in to an Entrepreneurial Hub

Goa is not just a tourists’ paradise anymore. In the current times, the image of Goa has taken another dimension. Young entrepreneurs; people chasing their dreams and ideas hungry to be tested on the ground – all have pitched their tents in the sandy shores of Goa and are writing absolutely new scripts of success. Such fascinating stories are in every corner of Goa.

Since not very long back when many liquor entrepreneurs decided to build their production bases in Goa and a new breed of restaurateurs started opening themed bars & lounges, there has been no looking back for Goa. The state has in the past decade or so emerged as the go-to aspirational destination. Goa has definitely arrived as the craft drinks capital of the country.

The reason for this paradigm shift can be attributed to the extremely friendly excise policy of the state, its location, highly knowledgeable consumer base along with the Goans’ innate sense of freedom and natural inclination to experiment. Many of those who land in Goa love to let their hair down at the exquisite beach shacks and experiment with the latest liquor offerings.

The tourists who land in Goa often go back to their city of origin with changed perceptions and with more knowledge about the kind of alco- beverages that they would like to consume. According to insiders and industry experts, a major change in flow has occurred towards Goa especially after the horrible two years of the pandemic.

“Goa started to get busy all the year through but post the pandemic Goa has emerged as the only go to holiday destination for many. Lately, there have been some amazing food and hard liquor and local beverage ventures popping up in Goa with high regard for quality, facilitated by the joy of ease of doing business this place allows,” says an industry veteran.

“Another key factor, which is often forgotten, is that Goa has very high quality and abundant water supply. For these reasons and more, I decided on Goa,” says Prasanna Natarajan, Founder – Sipping Spirits Private Limited.

Perhaps the first alcobev company to shift base to Goa more than a decade ago was Sipping Spirits Pvt. Ltd. He says thanks to the vibrancy of brand ‘Goa’ along with the highly cultured audience, his craft/boutique brands struck roots and gained traction from such a positioning. He goes on to explain that Goa is also a wonderful test market thanks to its image as a global travel destination.

Soon after, many other liquor companies decided to shift base to Goa and over time Goa has established itself as the prime alcobev destination. Another myth that was broken along the way was that Goa was often labelled as a seasonal market but things have changed in the post- pandemic era. Many people decided to shift base to ‘cool’ Goa over the last couple of years, with the main idea of beating the pandemic.

The end result was that more and more people began settling here from other cities and this in turn swelled the requirement for more food and alcobev venues in Goa. “Goa saw a record number of restaurants and bars opening at an unprecedent rate in the past two years. With Covid slowly losing steam and with international destinations opening up, there are bright prospects for Goa to consolidate itself as the ideal liquor destination,” affirms Pankaj Balachandran, Co-Founder and Partner – Bar Tesouro Goa, Mr. Jerry’s Cocktails, Countertop India.

Another industry insider Varna Bhatt says that the Goan consumers are more discerning and have greater exposure today. “While Goa has not seen a massive positive or negative change, other markets like what we are seeing in Maharashtra or Delhi have some way to go before this sector can qualify them as positive when it comes to ease of doing business,” she opines.

Most industry stalwarts whom we talked to agree that Goa is already the craft drinks capital of India. Goa has always been a great destination for both domestic and international tourism and now topping it up with the craft spirits revolution helps it sustain its position as the prime tourist destination in India.

Being a craft drinks capital also creates an opportunity for the rest of the tourism market of Goa to benefit and “we are beginning to see a lot of it be it in the form of curated experiences, tours and co-branded events,” Varna adds.

Added to this is the lure of the local feni, both of the coconut and cashew variety. And these local spirits are also being reinvented to suit international tastes. Local feni production houses are expected to gain traction and end up becoming favourites across the country and also become popular among the ‘chilled out’ foreign travellers. The day is not far when the whole country will popularise the phrase: “In Goa, do as the Goans do.”

In terms of Goa being a hot shot alcobev destination, it won’t be wrong to say: What Goa drinks today, the country will drink tomorrow!