UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya is upbeat on wine sales, saying ladies have started taking to the drink, even as United Spirits is planning to export 'Four Seasons' wine soon under the brand name 'Ritu'.
"We've launched Four Seasons wine and it’s doing very well. Will start exporting (Ritu wine) in the next couple of months," he told reporters on the sidelines of Annual General Meeting of USL here today.
"..I see a pretty bright future for wine because ladies have started drinking wine. That is a market segment or opportunity that was closed to us in the past. We see that as a large opportunity, slow but it could grow and we are ready for it," he said.
He also said sales are growing at a robust pace and the company needs to ensure it ramps up its production capacity.
"Over the last few years I have noticed a trend where we are contract bottling more and more to cater to growth and that the proportion of own manufacture is coming down. I'd like to reverse that trend because clearly when you manufacture on your own the profit margins are better,” Mallya added.