Radico to market Suntory's malt

BANGALORE: Liquor maker Radico Khaitan will market Japanese firm Suntory's Yamazaki single malt and Hibiki blended whiskies in India, marking its entry into the super premium liquor segment.

Radico Khaitan, one of the top three spirits companies in India, has signed a marketing and distribution deal for the liquor brands of the $20-billion Suntory Holdings, top officials said.

Suntory's 12-year-old single malt Yamazaki and its 17-year-old blended whisky Hibiki will be marketed at premium bars and retail outlets across metros by July, sporting price tags between 6,500 and 10,000.

With this, Radico is entering the premium liquor market, which is growing fast as Indians, buoyed by rising incomes and a booming economy, increase spent on aspirational products.

"Premiumisation has become the clear focus of our strategy," Radico Khaitan MD Abhishek Khaitan said. "In the next five years we want Radico to be known as a premium drinks company," he added.

This strategy shift is in keeping with the increase in well-travelled professionals in India who are willing to pay more and trade up to premium spirits today.

The Rs 835-crore maker of 8PM whisky, Magic Moments vodka and Morpheus brandy recently strengthened its on-trade marketing activities and roped in Ankur Sachdeva, a William Grant & Sons hand, to drive its international business division.

Tokyo-headquartered Suntory was founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii, often acknowledged as the father of Japanese whiskies.