With their first ever made-for-India innovation, Good Man is set to enhance India’s brandy drinking experience
Bacardi India hopes to strengthen its brown spirits portfolio and build scale with this launch. Sanjit Randhawa, Managing Director, Bacardí India, says “Our aim is to grow the business fivefold by 2030, and this launch reiterates our commitment to the market. It fortifies our premium portfolio as we continue to capture a larger share of the brown spirits category. It’s also a major step to strengthening our presence in the country, with this being the first in-house brand created in the market, specifically with the Indian consumer in mind.”
Each bottle of Good Man offers a meticulously crafted blend of grain spirit and top French and Indian grape brandies, oak-aged for at least two years. The result is a combination of woody flavours, fruity notes of pear apple, a rich palate of raisin, drizzled with sweet vanilla and honey. It can be enjoyed neat, on ice, or with a mixer.
A core distillate of wine, brandy has been made in France since the 1600s. The world-famous Cognacs made in the French region is a form of brandy made from white grapes. For centuries it was just an after-dinner drink all over Europe and America. Of late, though, it has made its way into several cocktails, attracting the younger consumer within the LDA segment.
It’s believed that the French who colonized parts of South India in the 18th century are the ones that introduced brandy to India. The country has grown since to become the world’s largest brandy market today, with 39% of global brandy consumption according to IWSR.
Even within India, brandy consumption remains powerfully concentrated in the South, which is home to 98% of all Indian brandy consumers. While local brands have evolved marginally over the years, Bacardi aims to capitalize on rising demand for a true ‘gentleman’s’ brandy – giving upscale drinkers a bold, contemporary new choice to stock on their shelves.
For Bacardi, the name Good Man embodies much more than the spirit in the bottle. The new brandy is targeted at the new-age Indian man who isn’t afraid to shape his own image of masculinity through his own passion and the profession he has chosen to pursue. It seeks to celebrate men who constantly strive to be the best version of themselves, enabling them to find the courage in their quest for individuality.
“Good Man aims to offer an enhanced drinking experience to the discerning Indian consumer,” says Bacardi’s AMEA Head of Innovations, Ayaesha Gooptu.
“It is an important launch in the portfolio, and we are very optimistic. Initially, we will focus on understanding consumer sentiment and then we will take this brand to more markets.”
Bacardi’s distribution plans for Good Man has been tailored keeping South India’s dominance of the Indian brandy market in mind. It is now available in stores in Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, and Pondicherry.
(Featured Image Credits: Bacardi India)