Michigan-based Varchas Whiskey is looking to enter markets in Telangana and Haryana shortly, said founder Varchasvi Shankar. The company, which entered the Indian market last year, has also announced plans to launch a new whiskey for Indian consumers.
“In India, we are slowly gaining market share. We’re still new, but are growing fast from an export perspective. The only other country apart from the US we’re in today is India, since it has a huge whiskey market. Consumers there are now looking at American whiskeys, apart from Scotch whiskey and Japanese whiskeys,” he said.
In the US, Varchas Whiskey is registered across 10 markets and is active in six, including Texas, Florida, Michigan, and Georgia. In India, it is present in Karnataka, Goa, Delhi, and Maharashtra. Currently, 20 per cent of its revenue comes from exporting its products from the US, while the remaining is from domestic sales. The company also said it wants to enter international markets like Canada, the UK, and Japan.
Varchas Whiskey’s product line-up includes the Varchas Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Varchas Reserve 102 Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and the Varchas Straight Rye Whiskey.
“We typically start with off-prem in a market. In Karnataka, we’re in about 200 off-premise and around 40 on-premise accounts. In the US, we have nearly 2,000 accounts - both off-prem and on-prem,” Shankar noted.
The whiskies usually take upwards of five years to age, before they can be bottled. “We make other products like vodka, gin, and tequila. They will off-set some investment in the whiskey cost. We’re on the right trajectory of growth, even with the global market slowdown.” The company imports its tequilas from Mexico. However, 90 per cent of Varchas Whiskey’s revenues come from its whiskey products alone.
The company’s distillery in Troy, Michigan, which the founder claims is the largest in South East Michigan, makes about 100 barrels a month.
“We have offices for Shankar Distillers India, our subsidiary, in Mysore and Bengaluru. It is also an importer. We have plans to open a plant in Goa or in Karnataka, depending on the opportunities we get from the local state governments,” he said.
While the company is currently boot-strapped, the founder said there is investor interest. “As we grow, there has been interest from investors in the company. At some point, I will be looking at bringing in some investors. The growth potential is huge and we’re growing fast,” he explained.