Shifting paradigm might not be easy always but Kasturi Banerjee - Founder and Director of Stilldistilling Spirits, which makes Maka Zai rum took up the challenge on herself when she sifted from her 14 years of lucrative banking career to be a bartender and then becoming an entrepreneur and creating one of India’s finest rums. With her diverse background, Kasturi tried many experiences but was very sure of having her own brand in the alcohol market. And finally, Makazai was launched with some hands-on experience and expert mentorship. This bottle has surely given the Indian market a classy rum.
Today on World Rum Day in a quick chit-chat with her she talks about her journey and her favourite cocktail.
Why the shift in paradigm from banker to bartender?
It really started out as an internship, born out of passion, which has now led to a new career path for me. I have always had a keen interest in wine and spirits and pursued a bartending course in 2019 to better understand the art of mixology. Through this experience and my genuine curiosity, I started to understand the history of the alco-bev industry in India and thought I could add value here.
What led to the founding of Stilldistilling Spirits? What has your journey been like?
As I delved deeper into the subject, my curiosity grew, leading me to experiment with blends and conduct research to understand emerging trends and consumer preferences in the space.
While the craft spirits industry was gaining immense popularity at the time, I was curious about the artisanal rum market, given the undercurrents taking place globally and India’s abundance of sugarcane, which acts as the foundation for any great rum. Rum's versatility fascinated me, and there was a significant market opportunity within the premium rum category. In my opinion, a rum revolution was on the horizon.
Thus, I set out to launch a homegrown brand to provide a premium drinking experience through our high-quality rum, proudly made in India. The journey has been nothing short of amazing, and we’re only getting started.
What is behind the brand name and the logo and why Rum?
At Stilldistilling Spirits, we believe perfection is an ongoing process and not the end. The name ‘Stilldistilling’ denotes our un-ending journey to continue to produce the best products for our consumers. It is also an endeavour to always seek better than what has already been achieved. With regards to the name, I wanted something unique but also easy to pronounce – in our case, Maka Zai translates to ‘I want’ in Konkani. We believe once you’ve tasted our product, that’s all you’ll be saying.
Our story is deeply rooted in the vibrant shores of Goa, and our logo draws inspiration from the Olive Ridley Turtle that is born on Goan soil. Despite growing only up to two feet in length, this little turtle embarks on an incredible journey of 9,000 kilometres, only to return home and give birth to new life. Its journey symbolizes resilience, ambition, and determination, and just like this creature, we are unwavering in our commitment to overcome obstacles and achieve success as a brand.
Given that India is a leading producer of sugarcane, which gives us the molasses spirit used to produce rum, and that our soils and climactic conditions are ideal for producing the best-quality rum, it was surprising that this spirit was being overlooked. In my view, a rum revolution was on the cards. Fast forward to today, the rum market is picking up in a big way globally. And we will continue to see more homegrown and international brands focus on this spirit in the next few years. In fact, rum sales have surpassed £1 billion a year in the UK, which now accounts for a bigger market share than whisky. In India, rum sales have grown 23% in the first 10 months of this calendar year.
You are almost a direct competitor to Old Monk. Was it easy to make your presence in the market?
Old Monk is a heritage brand and is associated with nostalgia. We are inspired by them – who isn't? They put Indian Rum on the global map. That being said, at Maka Zai, we focus on the premium market, catering to the changing Indian palate. To put things in perspective, the premium rum market has grown at a 23% CAGR (double digits) between FY 15-19. This is the larger opportunity and segment we want to tap. Old Monk is in the entry-level dark rum category, which also has a large market of its own, but they are two different markets with their own opportunities.
You entered the market and shattered many stereotypes. How easy or difficult was it for you?
To be honest, it's still a work in progress. When exploring the rum market in India, I observed that most consumers viewed rum as a dark uninteresting spirit. I wanted to change this because, to me, rum has always been fun and versatile!
A huge part of enabling this transformation was recognising the influence of packaging and design. In order to change perceptions, this needed to change. Thus, we chose clear bottles that helped the spirit itself to shine and pastel brand colours with intricate details to give our rum a more contemporary look.
With all your operations in Goa, what have been the responses from the people in Goa, and from across India and abroad?
We launched in Goa in January 2021, at a time when borders within India began opening, and many people travelled to the state. We leveraged this by curating various on-ground activations to engage with consumers, collaborate with industry partners, and spread awareness. As we were the first-of-our-kind rum brand in India, there was a lot of curiosity and interest to learn more about us. In fact, word of mouth played a huge role in our growth. We also invested in creating various training programs, workshops, and more to support and upskill bartenders across India.
Abhirup Bhattacharyya, brand ambassador
We have never depended on surrogate advertising. Instead, we’ve always used the power of social media to build brand awareness and engage directly with our consumers. Moreover, traditional marketing strategies (like merch – shirts, lapel pins, glassware, etc.) have worked great for us.
To summarize, the last two years it’s been positive and humbling. Seeing how many people have heard about Maka Zai across India and asking when we’ll be available in their state has been extremely gratifying. Consumers are also pleasantly surprised by our design, which contradicts the typical association the spirit has previously had.
What has been your biggest pandemic learning?
It's to be agile. When the pandemic first hit us in March, we were still in the planning phase of our business, and hence it did not affect operations, and we were able to launch in January 2021 in Goa. Given India's second wave and situation, we needed to adapt our plans. Luckily, we are small and, therefore, agile – so we spent a lot of time focusing on various training programs, workshops, and more. We also reassessed our marketing strategy, as the pandemic made us think innovatively about online engagement.
What has been your favourite Maka Zai Rum cocktail?
My current favourite is a technique-forward cocktail called The Wat-a-melon, which is a clarified cocktail made with Maka Zai White Rum that is infused with feta cheese and combined with fresh watermelon and basil.