India's First Seltzer Brand Goes International With its entry in Australia, Barneys sees a huge scope to enter into various international markets
By Srivatsa KR
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From being India's first hard seltzer brand to being the first brand to go international. Barneys has certainly achieved a few milestones. With its entry in Australia, the brand sees a huge scope to enter into various international markets.
How it all started? Well, In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity and 'pandemic gave birth to Barneys'.
While most of us suffered with lockdowns, faced difficulty in getting even the basics. There were people who still stood in a long queue of 4 kms to get a bottle of anything. That's when the two teetotallers realised the fad for liquor in India. Upon further exploration, they found a huge gap and an opportunity to offer something that falls in between a cocktail and a beer/wine. And hence planned to give a healthier and better alternative to the industry. With almost no experience in the beverage industry, they simply got hold of a carbonation machine and started playing around with different combinations with the pure strategy of 'try and fail'.
Barneys Hard Seltzer is India's first refreshing alternative to beer, wine and cocktails. The drink is a zero sugar/ low calorie/no-carb alcoholic product crafted precisely with elements like jasmine and lemongrass making the blends premium and unique at world level. In other words, it's a perfect thirst quencher, a combination of sparkling water mixed with alcohol and infused with natural and premium flavours. You can also call the seltzers 'tipsy water'. The brand envisions to be a youth and lifestyle brand for the health conscious category/ fitness enthusiasts thereby creating a new segment of 'hard seltzers' in India.
At its core, the company is addressing three major pain points. A trending segment in the US but not so trending segment in India due to its non-existence. There is no healthy beverage in the alcohol industry and post pandemic health is the top most concern for every human being. Also, till date we do not have any drink, which can give you a premium 7-star experience at an affordable price. Barneys Hard Seltzer is filing all the above gaps and fits in just perfectly.
For the first time ever the target audience is neither divided on the basis of gender nor on the basis of age. It's an easy drink for all above the age of 21 years thereby uniting the generations. The founders, Ruchi Gupta and Gaurav Sharma, strongly believe that today a competitor to a big brand is not another big brand but a start up with fresh ideas and strong will. They are certainly the game changers. For an industry like alcohol, it is very difficult to even think of entering, but Barneys is here to stay in the market.
Since its launch in Goa in January 2022, Barneys has already outshined its sales with more than 200,000 cans. While stealing the show in Goa, Pondicherry and Australia, the brand is all set to be the industry's new party drink in north India, i.e., Delhi, UP and Chandigarh. Delhi being a trend setter, barneys will perhaps be a perfect alternative for people who want to have a good time while being careful about what they consume guilt free.
Aiming for an INR 1,000 crore mark, Barneys is available in three flavours and have lined up three more for the future. The brand will also start its next fund round in August of about $2 million to expand dramatically in bigger states.
