Rahasya vodka maker gets Rs 2.48 crore in seed funding

New Delhi: Blisswater Industries — the maker of Indian craft vodka Rahasya — has raised Rs 2.48 crore ($335,000) in a seed funding round led by CC One Venture Labs and Majithia Family House. Independent investors Yash Shah (cofounder of startup consultancy Disruptium) and Sham Kishor Bhat also pitched in.

The capital will be used to expand the brand’s retail and catering-industry presence in India and abroad, as well as for developing two more products.

Founded by Varna Bhat in December 2020, Goa-based Blisswater launched Rahasya in January this year. The beverage retails only in Goa at present, but the company wants to expand sales to Maharashtra, Karnataka and later other domestic markets as part of its expansion strategy.


Blisswater is also eyeing overseas expansion to at least four countries.

According to Bhat, Rahasya has received a positive response in Goa, and since it’s among a handful of craft liquor and vodka brands in India, she would eventually look to take it global. "The funding will fuel the next phase of growth by strengthening and streamlining operations and supply chains, expanding the team, and also our footprint,” she said.

Disruptium's Shah said consumers are now more open to experimenting with craft spirits and since the Rahasya brand embodies Brand India, it will put the country on the map for quality alcoholic beverages.

India’s liquor industry has grown from Rs 1.84 lakh crore in 2016 to Rs 2.36 lakh crore in 2020, according to Statista. A study by Research and Markets says the Indian vodka market is likely to clock a compounded annual growth rate of 12% between 2017-18 and 2022-23. Based on consumption and cost, India’s vodka market is split into three categories: super premium, premium and prestige. But craft liquor, under which companies like Blisswater fall, is a fairly new category, less than a few years old in India.