Diageo India’s quaffing spirited plans

MUMBAI: Clean-cut Joey Bergstein hardly evokes images of a swashbuckling buccaneer. The senior vice-president, global marketing of Diageo Rum, a $1 billion-plus business worldwide, will, however, help us shake hands with a roguish, fun-loving privateer called Captain Morgan.

That’s the international rum brand entering this market via Diageo India, complete with eponymous moustachioed brand mascot.

Priced at about Rs 550 for a 750 ml bottle of CM Original Spiced, this swaggering launch marks Diageo’s debut in the world’s largest rum market. It also spiritedly opens a whole niche in rums here as our first golden spiced rum, which they swear offers the best rum-cola combo over rival brands.

Fascinated by this “frenetic”city with its streetside cameos of intense contrasts, Bergstein is more than hearty about their rum future in this untapped market. There’s a treasure chest full of premium international Diageo rums that he hopes we will swill over the coming years.

Expect to say ho ho ho to other variants of raunchy Captain Morgan in due course like CM Silver Spiced, CM Private Stock, CM Original (Black label), CM Parrot Bay, CM Tattoo Black Spiced. Beyond the helmsman, we should also be saying Salut to Diageo’s prized portfolio of Venezuelan rums - Pampero and Cacique; Jamaican Rum - Myers’s; and the number one Australian Rum — Bundaberg in due course.

Salut soon to Baileys and Smirnoff Ice

For Diageo India, these are heady days indeed. According to reliable trade buzz, their prized liqueur brand called Baileys will flow in next year, with pizazz brand extensions such as Baileys ice creams, chocolates, with coffee and in umpteen other formats. In the ready-to drink segment, the iconic Smirnoff Ice (Smirnoff plus unique flavours) should add proof to our party lives.

It will be sold here in glass bottles, this is the world’s largest ready to drink brand and will take on local RTDs like Bacardi Breezer. Both will open up new categories for Diageo here.

Asif Adil, MD, Diageo India, however won’t comment on such news. He does share, though, that they’re in the process of “activating” various global “Reserve” or top-end brands here such as Johnnie Walker Gold whisky; Ciroc-a nameplate vodka; various single malt whiskies.

Such activation will extend these brands from duty free to select restaurants and retail outlets across metros, though the outside price tag will be 150% more than that of duty free. Full-colour lifestyle events, big on pageantry or scale will help spread brand awareness.

Aspirations are obviously full peg for Adil.
“We want to be the crown jewel in the FMCG industry; we’re about lifestyle and celebration,” he says. Diageo’s entire “bejewelled” collection will soon be showcased at a single flagship store in Bandra, Mumbai which will be called Johnnie Walker, a name well known to Indians. Flagship stores in other metros should open later in phased manner.

As for Captain, my Captain, Adil expects to toast big-volumes ahead for the rum brand, akin to their runaway hit here-Smirnoff. The Indian rum market quaffs 30 million cases per annum and is growing at 10-15%, and mainly concentrated in the South and parts of the North.

Old Monk and Celebrations are the local big-timer rivals, with pricing less than half of CM, but different products in themselves. Globally, Diageo’s rum portfolio is growing at 10%, and Captain Morgan at 18%.

More critically, Captain Morgan as a brand isn’t widely known here. Bergstein has the marketing waterway in place though. We’ll be saying aye to real-life Captain Morgans in various bars with “Morganettes”-their version of mo-lasses-on his arm, as part of their on-premise plans.

The rambunctious seafarer will heft in his treasure chest, hand out keys to customers there, and some may actually open this trove packed with samples.

For Diageo, that’s all part of the booty that this market holds for them.