The Hindu Business Line : Tilaknagar bets on new launches to spur growth

TILAKNAGAR Industries Ltd, which owns brands such as Mansion House Brandy and Senate Whisky, will introduce a new whisky and vodka in the regular priced segment by December this year.

The company, based at Shrirampur township located in the heart of Maharashtra's sugar manufacturing belt, is fine-tuning its marketing operations as it plans to put the topline revenue growth on a faster track.

The BSE-listed company closed 2003-04 with turnover of Rs 94 crore, and expects the same to vault to Rs 125 crore to Rs 130 crore in the current financial year. Mr P.M. Salaskar, Managing Director of Tilaknagar Industries, said: "We are finalising the launch of the new whisky and vodka. In fact, we delayed the roll-out following the unsettling molasses prices, but now we are gearing up for a December launch."

Tilaknagar forayed into the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in 1973-74. The company has molasses-based distillery at Shrirampur with a capacity to produce 30,000 litre of rectified spirit and 10,000 litre of ENA per day. It is adding new bottling lines taking its monthly bottling capacity to over 1.5 lakh cases and is also doubling the ENA facility. The company has budgeted fresh capital expenditure of Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore in the current financial year. It has contract bottling arrangements in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab.

Mr Salaskar said the company would close the ongoing financial year with sales volume of over a million cases. Mr Salaskar said the bulk of the company's sales come from its three main brands, Mansion House Brandy, Napolean Courrier Brandy and Senate Whisky. Mansion House and Napolean Courrier are positioned in the deluxe brandy segment, with the former leading the category. Senate Whisky is in the semi-premium segment.

The company exports 10 containers (1,250 cases in each container) of Senate Whisky every month to markets in Africa and West Asia. The brand, which is slowly expanding the reach, currently enjoys sizable market presence in pockets of Maharashtra and eastern India.

The other brands in the Tilaknagar portfolio include Mansion House Whisky, Long Run Whisky, Classic Whisky and Savoy Club Gin. Mr Salaskar said the company was focused on turning marketing-savvy and has recruited middle to senior level executives from well-known liquor companies to steer its brands at the regional level. The company's marketing operations is spearheaded by Mr Subhasis Roy who joined from Allied Domecq.