SipWise Beverages, which sees an unmet consumer need in the beverage market for healthier ingredients, combinations of flavours and proprietary ingredients, is now chalking a major expansion plan to be present all the metro cities and top 10 Tier-I cities by the end of 2018.
“This is the segment that is poised to see double-digit growth in the beverage industry Consumer preferences in this country have evolved from just expecting a tasty beverage to a beverage that offers more value than taste. This is the newly-developed industry of functional beverages and we aim to be leaders by establishing the first-mover advantage and being category creators in this area,” Harish Mohan, founder, SipWise Beverages, told F&B News.
“We are funded entirely through internal accruals at this stage. The company has fared excellently in its ten months of operation. We have pan-India presence through leading retail chains like Godrej Nature’s Basket, Big Bazaar, Hyper City, Star Bazaar, Big Basket, Grofers, Barista and Metro. In addition, general trade stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune are also generate sales. We are now looking to expand further,” he added.
“Currently, Herb Coolers and 1947 are SipWise fast-moving stock-keeping units (SKUs) with green tea gaining acceptance in niche markets. We are operating through the traditional supply chain network of a super stockist-dealer framework and have plans to be in all the metro cities and top 10 Tier-I cities by end of 2018,” stated Mohan.
The Gujarat-based company has outsourced manufacturing from a production plant based at Mhow, Indore district, Madhya Pradesh. As part of its expansion, it is currently looking at one more manufacturing unit in the south. It also exports to the Gulf countries, where consumers have evinced interest in its products. Exploring other global markets of the United Kingdom and Australia are on the cards.
“In order to gain further market access, product range expansion with variants in Herb Coolers and adding more flavours in Green Tea Coolers are on the cards. There is research going on right now to develop various functional drinks out of plant extracts in our laboratory right now,” Mohan said.
“The strategy for SipWise is to create a new market rather than entering an existing ones,” he added, stating that while this was a slow process, it yielded rewards in the long term. He added, “We are investing in point-of-sale materials (POSM) and a wide network of promoters to educate the consumer on the benefits of green tea and herb coolers, as well as our naturally-caffeinated drink.”
The Indian beverage market is nascent, but poised to grow significantly over the next decade. A visible trend is the demand for sugar replacements and natural ingredients. The biggest challenge in new product development is to educate the consumer, scale up the brand and overcome the issue of hefty listing fees required by retailers to stock the product.
