GOAN SPIRITS

The Ready-to-Drink premium cocktail brand O' Be Cocktails was launched by Nitesh Prakash in 2021. O' Be Fab Cosmopolitan, O' Be Sauve Gin & Tonic, O' Be Lively LIIT, and O' Be Zesty Mojito are currently the brand' s 4 cocktails with an average alcohol content of 8% by volume. There is always something new and unique to try for Indian Millennials, and O'Be has become a favorite. During a time of national lockdown, O'Be Cocktails saw an opportunity to provide easy access to highquality, ready-to-drink cocktails. Due to Covid19, people found it relevant to have cocktails at home rather than going out which boosted the sales of the brand. So far, O’ Be Cocktails has sold 100,000 cocktails and are planning to sell 1,000,000 in the next 12 months across Pan India. O’ Be premium cocktails are currently available in 1000 premium wine stores in Bangalore, Goa & Hyderabad and are projecting a monthly revenue of 1 Cr. O’ Be Cocktails has recently raised Rs 3.5 crore in a bridge round. The investment is led by Sattva Family Office, Gaurang Jhunjuhwala - Partner, Mckinsey, Ankit Bhati (co-founder of OLA who participated again), LetsVenture and others O’ Be cocktails will use the fresh capital to build the scale of the distribution to reach every cocktail consumer in India and, also for broadening the current range of O’ Be Cocktails. “We have crafted a great range of ready to drink cocktails with the art of mixology and science of consistency, consumers and our investors loved the cocktails. The current investment is going to help us reach O’ Be Cocktails with a wider range of consumers. At O’ Be, we are aiming to lead the ready to drink industry in Indian markets and outside said Nitesh Prakash, Founder & CEO, O’ Be Cocktails. “Ready to Drink is revamping the beverage consumption across the globe, and we loved what team at O’ Be Cocktails are trying to do. Alcobev is not an easy category to be in; the team has shown consistent efforts in the right direction to lead the upcoming growth of RTD in Indian markets ” Shivam Agarwal leading the Sattva family office commented. To know some more details about the brand, we got into a candid conversation with Nitesh, and here is what he shared. Aditi: Why did you think of making cocktails in a bottle in the first place? Nitesh: Cocktail is primarily an experience, not just only the liquid; hence the original question that we were trying to solve was not the cocktail in a bottle, however, benchmarking the cocktail experience in the ready-to-drink format. The founding team saw the gap in the consistency of the cocktails across all the places even though these are well-established classic cocktails. That became the starting point for how we combine the art of mixology and the science of consistency to deliver the cocktail experience for the consumers. After doing the research for a year and a half and multiple iterations with mixologists and bartenders across all the cocktails, we were able to create O’ Be Cocktails in a transparent glass bottle. Aditi: What is the USP of the product? What sets it apart? Nitesh: We ’ re a cocktail experience brand, ensuring the art of mixology and science of consistency is blended well in every bottle. Ready-to-drink Cocktails for all house parties and social gatherings at home is our differentiating proposition.

Whether its O’ Be Fab Cosmopolitan crafted with a fine mix of premium Vodka, Cranberry, Triple Sec and Lime or Its O‘ Be Zesty Mojito, crafted with Premium White Rum, mint and Lime or O‘ Be Lively LIIT, the most popular classic cocktail across crafted with perfection and a blend of Tequila, White Rum, Gin, Vodka, Triple Sec and Cola or it' s our latest addition O‘ Be Suave Gin & Tonic, made with roseinfused Gin, low sugar tonic water and a hint of Cucumber. Aditi: How is it different from other brands in the market? Nitesh: Ready to drink beverage category has seen recent developments with many new brands on the shelf in the last 12 months. We still believe there is a scope for many more to come and we are only scratching the surface. Consistently delivering the cocktail experience is our unique proposition and differentiation in the brand. We are the only brand that uses all the spirits like Vodka, Gin, White Rum and Tequila to make a range of classic cocktails. This helps in catering to a large set of consumers. Aditi: What is the price point and is it an advantage for the consumer or is it a little expensive? Nitesh: We are a premium brand, with natural ingredients, premium spirits and global standard and rewarded packaging. Considering cocktails menu are the most expensive, O’ Be Cocktails are in an affordable range catering to everyone who ' s their drinking age, a college student or working professionals. All the states have different pricing strategies; however, we ensure that the price is in the range of 30-40% of the cocktails that are served in the HORECA channels making it easy, convenient and affordable for everyone. Aditi: What marketing strategies are being put in place to popularise the product further? Nitesh: Being a cocktail brand, delivering the cocktail experience consistently is our sales and marketing strategy. We are a retail focussed brand, consumer acquisition through educating and marketing O’ Be Cocktails is our core strategy. Along with that, our core audience is artists and we collaborate with many PAN India artists to drive engagement across our digital platforms. Aditi: Where do you see the brand 1 year from now? Nitesh: Establishing O’ Be Cocktails as a ready-to-drink cocktail brand catering to every urban consumer will remain our focus in the short-term establishing our distribution to PAN India and serving a million cocktails. The team is extremely bullish on the convenience we are able to provide to the consumers, and that will be our long-term strategy – catering to every consumer and providing their favourite drinks in ready-todrink format.