Lone Wolf in the Crowded Beer Market

Anyone else in the place of Atul Kumar Singh, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Onkara Beverages and Hospitality (P) Limited, would immediately have shot down the idea of launching a beer in an already ‘stuffed to the neck’ India’s beer market with so many beer brands standing cheek by jowl on the pub and store shelves. But then Atul is made of sterner stuff and he took the bull by the horns, launching the Lone Wolf brand of beer after going through the labyrinth of state regulations and all the other strangleholds of the market. Now, he can sit back a little and watch the brand grow.

Atul Kumar Singh stepped into this industry’s start-up space and launched Onkara Beverages and Hospitality with one objective: to provide an escape to a brave new world. “We were thirsty to embark on a rich journey through new premium flavours,” he explains. The inception of the brand was in May 2022 but it wasn’t exactly a smooth road to success. As with several other start-ups, Onkara had to face many obstacles, primarily pertaining to the regulatory hurdles, hiring of a dependable team, building an efficient distribution network, and so on.

He shares that navigating the complex landscape of strict regulations and licensing requirement. here has always been a challenge. Further, getting in place a dependable and credible team without launching the beer was a tricky path to navigate.

“ Similarly, it was important to build a strong distribution network, especially considering the vast geography of India. Ensuring a consistent and widespread availability of the product requires effective supply chain management. As it is, we had decided to enter into a cluttered beer market which poses high barriers to entry,” elaborates Atul while discussing the challenges involved.

Filling the Gap

Lone Wolf, the beer brand launched by Onkara Beverages and Hospitality, is a bold response to a void that he identified in the Indian beer market. “In Amidst a plethora of beer options, we noticed a distinct lack of exceptionally smooth beers, he explains. Moreover, Atul wanted to challenge the broader notion that strong beers are essentially cheap beers.

The idea was to give a premium drinking experience to all strong beer drinkers and strive to make it part of the consumers who otherwise enjoy their mild beer. “We believe that beer should be more than just an alcoholic beverage. It should be an embodiment of community, a symbol of shared emotions and experiences. We wanted to break away from the ordinary and introduce a beer that not only tasted smoother than any of the beer on the market but also challenged the norms of what a beer could be,” puts in Atul. For example, their alpha witbier is not heavy-bodied as regular witbiers.

Taxing Regulations

As a bootstrapped venture, Onkara Beverages and Hospitality had to go through the complex web of licensing procedures – a process that can be soul-destroying. “The process of obtaining licenses can be intricate and time-consuming. Dealing with different regulations in each state poses a challenge. Moreover, policies and regulations can change, therefore requiring constant flexibility. In addition, the diverse taxation policies across states impact pricing and distribution strategies,” Atul observes.

During this journey through the maze, Atul found that Uttar Pradesh is consistent with its policy which helps clarity in adopting a business plan while Goa’s initial statutory fees are less and in favour of start-ups. Delhi and Karnataka give the advantage of supplying directly to a corporation, thus reducing credit risk.

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