Ritesh Tiwari

Tilaknagar Industries Ltd., best known for its leading Mansion House brandy, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Imperial Blue whisky business from Pernod Ricard India for an enterprise value of ₹4,150 crore ($500 million), marking one of India's largest ever liquor-sector deals. The all-cash transaction, expected to close within the next six months, includes a deferred payment of ₹282 crore payable four years following completion. It marks Tilaknagar’s strategic entry into India’s high-volume whisky market, which constitutes nearly two-thirds of the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) sector. Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-largest spirits maker, said the sale lets it sharpen its focus on premium brands like Chivas Regal, Glenlivet, and Jameson and is expected to meaningfully improve its operating margins and net sales growth. The popular Imperial Blue, launched in 1997 and currently India’s third-best-selling IMFL whisky, sold 22.8 million nine-litre cases in 2023. Tilaknagar—returning to profitability after debt restructuring—has been raising up to $500 million through debt and equity to finance the acquisition. Its board approved the fund-raising plan earlier this month . Chairman & MD Amit Dahanukar said the acquisition supports Tilaknagar’s “vision 2030” strategy of expanding its non-brandy footprint—from 6% to around 20% over the medium term. By adding Imperial Blue to its portfolio, it becomes a significant player across both brandy and whisky categories. Tilaknagar’s shares have rallied nearly 30% over the past month as investors welcomed the bold move. Analyst reports suggest this deal could give the company a national IMFL footprint and introduce economies of scale in distribution and marketing.

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Scale - Short, simple word but not at all simple to achieve in business. But if you get it right, it can positively transform the business! Today I had the opportunity to see a business “scaling” up organically. Along with the resolute Manaswini Goel, I had the pleasure of visiting Mahindra’s Aero business in Bangalore. The business is on a path to 10X growth. It’s been painstaking work. Growing from 2-3 initial customers to 25 today. One work package at a time! Here’s what I learned from the team at Aero about scaling up A) Know your Customer : Understanding the customer, their pain points, being close to them, aligning your offering to their need - This team is as close to the customer as it gets. B) Credibility : The industry doesn’t get harder than this. Because of the stakes involved, the customer expects you to be right everytime. This means taking the time to get it right. The team has shown infinite patience as they were tested a 100 times before they were assigned larger work. They knew it was important to get it right every one of those 100 times! There was no shortcut. C) Capability Building : To be seen as credible, it is extremely important to build capability. Capability is a function of people, process, systems. The team at Aero was always strong on customer orientation. They have since added capability in application engineering, planning, manufacturing excellence, fulfilment and many such critical functions. They are running multiple initiatives to make their systems world class. And the process focus is intense. SOPs visible to all. Dashboards highlighting what needs to be fixed. Kaizen event follow up notes… all around the shop floor! D) Learning culture : Despite getting A, B and C right most times, there will be moments of failure. A learning culture allows you to move with purpose when faced with a failure - Because you see failure as a way to get better. A learning culture also fosters an environment of continuous improvement. If you think you did something well, you look for ways to do it even better the next time. E) Passion and Belief : This one is a softer aspect but very important part of scaling up. Everyone I met was buzzing with ideas. Teams need to be passionate about the scale up Vision. They need to believe they can do it. This will feed “D” above even more as whenever there is a failure, the passion and belief will keep them going. Another soft aspect - Having fun is important for teams who are scaling up. It keeps the passion going. Learning about every trick the team tried to scare away local monkeys was the funniest thing i have heard in a while. This includes dressing up as gorillas and putting a stuffed tiger on the floor. Needless to say, the monkeys didn’t fall for either! Lot of respect for the Aero team and what they have set out to do. I will be rooting for this scale up Vinod Sahay Arvind Mehra Karthik Krishnamurthy

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India must build global brands Why hasn't it done it so far? I wrote this article for Outlook Business Business for their Independence day issue. The issue got delayed / whatever and the article appeared this week. In this article I use Kantar data to show that for a $4 Trillion economy,we need more brands. What is the shift we need? 1.We have been a large, protected, license led domestic market for most of the 78 years. 2. Indian owners need Brand ambition as much as business ambition. A brand ambition must go beyond a family name and legacy. 3. A lot of our past innovation has been import substitution led and not value improvement led. 4. We valued information over insight. Brands are built on insights. 5. We have had more of trading genes than creator genes. 6. Indian Premier League India and Indian School of Business are definitely two global brands we have created in the last 20 years and full credit to the two institutions. 7. India must pivot to design and sensory thinking if it wants to create global brands. 8. We were not that integrated into the global market, today we are at the core. India has soft power, which will be enhanced by building more Indian brands in the future. shiv www.shivshivakumar.com

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Yesterday’s GST decision to place processed foods at 5% is more than a tax tweak—it’s a signal of intent. Affordable health foods and wellness products are now within easier reach for millions of Indian households. Why it matters: • Nutrition for all: Lower rates bring packaged and fortified foods into everyday baskets, making healthier choices accessible beyond metros. • Formalisation boost: With packaged food penetration still low, a simplified GST regime nudges consumers and small businesses from unorganised to organised markets. • Growth engine: simpler slabs improve clarity, will spur investment in food processing, and strengthen India’s agri-to-retail value chain. At Bagrry's, our belief has always been that better nutrition should not be a privilege. This reform takes us a step closer—supporting a healthier, more prosperous nation. #GST #ConsumerEconomy #FoodProcessing #MakeInIndia #NutritionForAll #FMCG

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