He calls himself a serial entrepreneur. With food, wine and, of course Dabur Foods, rightly so. Aabhas Sharma meets Amit Burman and finds out what drives the man into new ventures and what it takes to run the show
It’s not famous, yet promises to be as good as the best. Kuchh Nai Scotch whisky, says its website, “carries a deep amber appearance, with elements of mahogany lights”. The USP seems to be the name, which means “nothing” in Hindi. The “name gives it considerable added value in an Indian context”, according to the website of the company headquartered in Southall, London. “Traditional Indian hospitality is enhanced with an extra dimension of humour.” The answer to the question "What will you drink?" in Punjab is often, “Kucch nahi.”
India is the second overseas market for Kuchh Nai after Canada where it is distributed by one Del Singh, and the company is on the lookout for distributors in countries like “South Africa, China, Nepal, Kenya and Malaysia”. The name, for sure, fetched the whisky enough eyeballs at its recent launch in India by Amit Burman’s Nature’s Bounty Wines & Allied Products. But will it sell in a country where Scotch whisky starts and ends with Johnny Walker? Burman has priced it at Rs 1,000 a bottle, which makes it the cheapest Scotch whisky in the market. The task ahead would be to make it available in liquor stores and bars, get people to taste it and trigger demand.
Is this a master move or just another step by a serial entrepreneur? The scion of the Burman family of Dabur, and a regular face on Delhi’s party circuit, has dabbled in the Internet, set up a “birthing boutique”, built a food brand (Dabur Real) from scratch, got into the restaurant business and tried his hand in car dealership. And now it’s Kuchh Nai Scotch whisky. Burman’s explanation for the latest venture is “Selling wine is getting a bit difficult because of the duties, so we thought of venturing into other spirits,” says the vice-chairman of Dabur India. “Kuchh Nai is not a premium offering but something the Indian consumer will enjoy.”
Burman returned to India 15 years ago, after finishing college in the US, and was absorbed in Dabur, the family flagship. After some other verticals, he moved to food. Real fruit juice was his brainchild. Urban Indians suddenly had higher disposable incomes and were ready to spend more on healthier options than aerated beverages. What helped was Dabur’s strong brand equity in the natural wellness space. Real became the second-largest brand in the category after PepsiCo’s Tropicana. Burman followed it up with Real Activ, the sugar-free variant for health-conscious consumers. Today, years later, Burman takes a keen interest in the brand. Real juices, Burman says, are growing at 45 per cent, while Real Activ is growing at about 70 per cent.
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A long-term associate of Burman says that he has the knack of persisting with things when others would give up. Even with Real, the initial response was lukewarm. The Dabur board even considered shutting down the business as losses were starting to mount. Burman convinced the directors to give him some more time to turn it around. And that’s what he did. Today, Dabur Foods contributes about 10 per cent to the group’s revenue. “There was a gap in the market as far as packed juices were concerned and we filled it,” says Burman.
While running Dabur Foods, Burman expanded the portfolio with products like Hommade cooking pastes and Lemoneez lime concentrate. But they failed to stir the market. Burman says Hommade was a little ahead of its time, and now, as the market has evolved, it’s growing steadily at about 25 per cent per annum. But he says the company has no plans to enter the other big category of ready-to-eat foods and will focus on beverages.
That was also the time Burman launched three websites. But the dotcom bubble of the early 2000s burst and all his carefully laid-out plans went haywire. Thus, www.smartbahu.com was shut down, www.e-medlife.com was sold to Apollo and the third was converted into backend operations. “Of course, mistakes have been made but the point is to rectify them ,” he says. The other venture that failed to take off was the north India dealership for Audi. This is something Burman is reluctant to talk about.
Then, a few years ago, the Burmans decided that they would hold no executive positions in Dabur, though they would serve on the board. Each of the Burmans was free to venture out on his own. That is when Burman found his calling — restaurants. Lite Bite Foods, one of the many Burman-promoted companies, has a lot of restaurants under its umbrella: Subway, Street Foods of India, Fresco, Pollo Campero and Jiggs Kalra’s Punjab Grill. It has a strategic alliance with PVR Cinemas to run food courts in its multiplexes. Burman was recently given a restaurateur of the year award at the India Restaurant Awards 2011.
Kalra, whose Punjab Grill is a part of Lite Bite Foods, says Burman understands the food business very well. Earlier this year, Lite Bite Foods went overseas with the opening of Punjab Grill in Singapore. “Be it quick-service restaurants or fine-dining restaurants, he knows what will work and more importantly where it will work,” he says. Burman, on his part feels that the key is to understand and realise the potential in the food and beverages industry in the retail segment.
The question is, how scaleable is this business? Burman maintains all his ventures are fully scaleable. “I don’t make investments thinking how one business could affect the other,” he says. While his restaurant and wine business is doing well, Burman is often called a one-brand wonder. It is something which doesn’t bother him. “There have been success stories as well as a few mishaps, which is a part of any entrepreneur’s growth curve,” says Burman who is also a trained pilot, a bartender and a fitness freak to the core. “Flying was something I pursued in the US but it’s difficult to find time for it these days,” he says.
What is it that drives him to venture into new businesses? “I guess I am always looking for new ideas ,” he says. “When I started out, I was told by many that packaged juice is something Indians would never take to, but look how fast it has grown,” he says with quiet pride and satisfaction. His next task is to sell Kuchh Nai.