Bols Kyndal JV, a joint venture between Kyndal India Private Limited and Lucas Bols BV of Amsterdam, has lined up plans to launch Bols brandy across south India by this year-end.
Kyndal India managing director Sidharth Banerji told Business Standard that the brandy would be launched in Andhra Pradesh next month to be followed by Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The product had already been launched in Karnataka where the response from consumers was 'good'.
Kyndal is an importer and distributor of spirits that cover the domestic and duty-free markets of the sub-continent and West Asia, while Lucas Bols is a 450-year-old company, which sells 3 million cases of spirit with a turnover of around 100 million euro.
“It is for the first time a genuine grape brandy is being introduced in the country,” he said, adding that the various brands of brandy produced and marketed in the country today were molasses-based and not made out of grapes.
According to Banerji, brandy consumption in south India has a historical element. It goes back to the time of French who ruled parts of south India, particularly Puducherry.
“Brandy is a natural drink and there is also a health aspect to the liquor,” he said pointing out that the four southern states account for 85 per cent of the 30 million litre brandy market in the country.
Kyndal, which posted a turnover of about Rs 30 crore (excluding excise duty) last year, is targeting about five per cent market share in the 1 million cases of premium brandy market in the country. It is expecting to increase its annual turnover by about Rs 5-10 crore through the sale of Bols brandy.
Apart from Bols, Kyndal portfolio includes Louis XIII Cognac, Piper Heidsieck Champagne, Sobieski Vodka and Bowmore Single Malts.