 with me today, Mr. Varun Kurich. He's the vice president of marketing and portfolio head at Diageo India. Diageo in the recent past we've seen has focused a lot on criminalization of its category and Varun is here to tell us more. Varun, hello. Hi, it's Varun. Thank you so much for a warm welcome and lovely introduction and I'm really happy to be here. Varun, let's get started. Firstly, a big focus for Diageo India has been criminalization and marquee brands such as Signature, House of McDonald's and Antiquity have moved up the value chain. What's the insight behind moving these brands to the premium upper precede segment? Yeah, look, I mean, as and Diageo and you would have been hearing the word criminalization pretty much, not just in the category, but in the entire industry. But for this particular category, it's becoming increasingly important. And for the prestige portfolio, essentially, we want to accelerate our play in the prestige portfolio by criminalization and by coming out with purposeful brand positioning. And as you see it, it's a very exciting time for the Alphabet industry. Consumers are seeking out unique liquids, unique experiences, bespoke experiences and specific crafts, products or brands that tell a story. You marry that with the age of social media, which is all about instant sharing of experiences, versus dealing things or possessions. And then, of course, you look at consumers of today who are now wanting to drink better versus wanting to drink more. And this was, I believe, a trend that could have started around the pandemic, but it has stayed. So when you look at all of these things together, and then you look at the numbers, within the premium segment, it is growing at double digits. So that's where the entire category is shifting towards. And keeping all of that in mind, I think it is important for us to hence position Indian whiskeys more as distinct offerings, high quality differentiated. And marry that with the right people and ingredients and processes to come out with bespoke liquids, essentially, that are made in India and for the world. And when we look at the prestige portfolio, the one that I handle, across brands, purposeful positioning has become increasingly important. So if you look at a brand like McDonald's, for example, McDonald's is, we are now transforming McDonald's into the house of McDonald's, creating that minimization journey. And we have pretty much started now. We looked in, Kartik Gauri to celebrate the limitless possibilities of friendship with our latest campaign, Yarowali Park. And in driving in a lot more purposeful brand positioning, a purposeful play across the brand narrative. We also had a hearing impaired actor named Saad, featured in the film as well. Again, thereby representing the persons of disabilities into our advertising campaigns as well, who are highly underrepresented. And you see this purposeful positioning, you see this drive for more meaning across brands. So you'll see a brand like Signature, for example, which is all about living good and doing good. And with Signature, we want to drive in the message of living good and doing good and taking care of your environment or even giving back to the environment. Again, our campaign with Ayushman Purana, which we recently launched is pretty much a testament of that. And then we have, of course, you know, with Signature in itself, we are also expanding into experiences with our own IP called Signature Green Wides or the Zero Festival of Music, which is all about, of course, celebrating with your friends, going out, social gatherings. But at the same time, how best can you save the environment? I mean, that's the message that you want to drive in the minds of the consumers. And how can you give back to the environment? With Signature, we're also driving the entire mangrove project in Odessa, which is all about restoration of the mangrove project. I'll show you. I mean, we've talked about it at scale across levels. And these are so the initiative that we are really proud of. The last one, of course, in my portfolio is the Royal Challenge, again, one of the most energetic and vibrant brands which communicates on the platform of Brigade and IPL. But with that as well, with the recent campaign, there we challenged conventions by featuring in plus size models, going out there and expressing themselves. And, of course, driving the message on responsible drinking as well with the campaign that we did around choose more and choose water. Don't succumb to the pressures of your friends, take a break and drink some water. So yeah, a lot of exciting time in the campaign. It's all towards criminalization and our focus is around criminalization and offering bespoke liquids, differentiated liquids, high quality liquids to our consumers. And at the same time, from a messaging standpoint, it's all about provisional brand positioning from our side. That's a lot to take in that, Varun. But you mentioned that consumer habits, which changed during the pandemic, continued even after normalcy return. This has not been seen in many other categories. So why so? And what factors are driving growth for the segment? I think, yeah, it is an interesting one, right? During the pandemic, of course, social gatherings had come down and people had to pretty much entertain themselves while being locked indoors. So people found new ways to zoom calls, etc. to get in touch with people, form their own way of meeting socially or partying socially as well. Gosh, as I said, it seems like ages ago, it was just about two years back. But that's where a huge amount of experimentation has started. And people beyond the point had pretty much made up their mind that it's all going to be about drinking better, versus drinking a lot. And yes, that pretty much stayed. And as we are coming out now of the pandemic, of course, social gatherings have obviously come back. I'm not sure if it's the same levels as a pre-pandemic level. Of course, there was a complete burst immediately after the pandemic. But prices have gone up, price of experiences have gone up. And you've seen a lot of in-home drinking still staying. And hence, consumers are still seeking better liquids, wanting to drink better versus wanting to drink more. And there are two cohorts, I would say, which are driving towards the category where, of course, is people who are entering the legal drinking age. Those are the people who we want to ensure that we are covered when it comes to their needs. As they're entering this particular category, they're very experimentated. So they are very high on repertoire. They're experimenting between different categories, different liquids. And then there is, of course, measurement, which I spoke about. It's all about drinking better, drinking premium. And really associating with brands which resonate really well with them, brands which are purposeful, which are giving back to the society, which stand for doing good. And then, of course, there is them seeking different flavors, them seeking convenience. So this is, this is, of course, one part. The other, of course, is the affluent. And I'm sure you would have seen this, the affluent serve skyrocketing. You know, especially in India, more and more people, more and more households are now entering into this particular category. In fact, I was given this number that about 45% of the households in India will move into this affluent category by the year 2030. Now, these folks are wanting superior liquids, bespoke experiences. They want to know about the craftsmanship of the liquid, etc. And hence, these are the folks who are driving that entire criminalization. So from our side, essentially, we need to ensure that we are meeting the needs of both these categories, of both these categories of consumers. So it's not a or a strategy for us. It's an and strategy for us when it comes to driving growth in the country. I was going to ask you, you know, what is the changes seen in the consumer profile? So you've kind of answered that you're seeing more of the younger generation, which in this case would be the Gen Z's entering into the drinking, drinking scene. And also you mentioned the affluent. But are there any other consumer profile changes that you've seen, what I'm saying are more women taking to premium drinking? What is the growth that you're seeing from the smaller towns and smaller cities? Or is it more metro centric? No, it's all across really. And thanks for asking that question. It's a very important point and something that we that we are witnessing. One of course is boom times. So from a geographical standpoint, you know, boom times are coming really well. There are consumers there as well who want to drink, want to drink better. And, you know, they are willing to pay hence a lot, a lot more or slightly more or more, you know, for these, for these drinks versus versus before. And the point around women, of course, you know, there is more women, there's more economic empowerment that we are witnessing when it comes to women. You know, the, the pressures that used to exist, the pressure, etc. are going away. Women are far more empowered into making decisions for themselves. So we are seeing, of course, a lot of women entering into this particular category. They are consuming, but they are, I think that consumption is happening more from a social gathering standpoint versus wasn't at home. So that's, that's really a trend that we are definitely witnessing. And then again, from our side, we need to ensure that, you know, we are inclusive when it comes to our communications or the products that we that we come out with the innovations that we come out with. So yeah, that's, that's definitely another big trend that's happening in this category. You mentioned communication. So how has the Azure's marketing strategy evolved? Yeah, I mean, I think I spoke about it slightly earlier, but but to talk about in detail, it's all about, you know, front and center, brand position, you know, and ensuring that that we are, we are targeting distinct, you know, propositions across all of our brands, you know, driving, being driving sustainability, being driving, you know, meaning or distinctiveness across, across all of our brands. Again, signature, like I mentioned, you know, a brand that is all about living forward and doing good and giving back to the society with, with signature, it's, it's, it's really about just, just driving this entire message around saving the environment and driving sustainability. And hence we came out with, you know, these two, one experiential IP called Signature Greenwives and the other association with the very famous Euro Festival of Music. Both of these are all about going out, enjoying yourself, expressing yourself, you know, listening to music, but at the same time, taking care of the environment and giving back, you know, giving back and not harming the environment. And at the same time, Mangroves Project is something that I looked into in the beginning. You know, it's a, it's a, it's a project that we at Diazio are very proud of, you know, the regeneration of the Mangroves Project in Orissa, you know, working very strongly with the communities in Orissa to, to regenerate, to protect the, the Mangroves, because at the end of the day, you know, Mangroves essentially, they, they stem erosion and they are, they drive carbon neutrality as well and, and provide food security. So, so it's all, it's all connected and that it, and when it comes to royal challenge, for example, it's royal challenges, it's, it's, it's challenging the accepted norms of, of beauty. And that's when we, we caught some, you know, plus size models to come out and express themselves, choose gold. And within the royal challenge portfolio, we came out with another campaign around making responsibly, you know, choosing water and not succumbing to peer pressure. Same with the Karthik Aryan campaign, when we looked at Saad, who's a hearing impaired actor to feature in and then, you know, providing mass support to, you know, the differentially abled folk and especially in, in advertising. So it's, it's pretty much embedded across all of our initiatives that we are doing across all grant communications. You also recently signed on Karthik Aryan, who became the face for the House of McDonald's Blastware for your new campaign, Yarowali Bath. Firstly, why Karthik Aryan and how does this friendship proposition over the years help build the brand? Yeah, look, I mean, the Karthik Aryan, when we were looking at, when we were looking at, you know, the entire brand narrative, et cetera, Karthik Aryan fits pretty much like a blog. You're going to do this entire, in, in, in entire brand campaign. As far as Big Dog is concerned, the idea is essentially to, again, write distinction, write purposeful brand positioning, right? And, you know, the brand is all about, you know, creating limitless possibilities in, in, in, in friendship. And Karthik Aryan, he resonates really well, you know, as, and he's got this boy next door kind of an image. He is, he's very relatable. And of course, with the work that he's done in the past, it's all about, you know, stronger friendships, et cetera. So it, it seems like, you know, he would be a super strong connect, especially for this generation. And as we've seen from the launch of this particular campaign as well, the kind of messaging that we are getting back from the consumers, it's very positive. And Karthik Aryan is working really well. So it was a, it was a great decision, you know, we will continue to be associated with, with Karthik Aryan. As far as friendship is concerned, I think the number one Yari here was always there with the brand, you know, it's a, it's such a strong insight around friendship that resonates, that has resonated really well with the consumers over the past. Now, as we expand into the house of McDonald's, and start talking about primimising the brand, this is our first step into, you know, expanding it from number one Yari to two Yaru Vani Bhat. And we are pretty confident that, that it's going to work well for us. You know, you've spoken a lot about brand purpose across categories, people with special needs, the mango project, etc. And the Yaru has also been a big proponent for responsible drinking. How does this help bring brand salience with your customers? Yeah, look, first of all, when it comes to, you know, responsible drinking, you know, globally, it is, you know, it's our society, it's part of our society, 2030 goal, and we, we work, you know, across educational institutions, etc., to impart, you know, the ill effects of excessive drinking. And that we, we believe, we strongly believe that sets us apart from our competitors, right. And we are seeing when it comes to, you know, responsibility to consumers at the end of the day, they are seeking, they're seeking better liquids, they, they're seeking better liquids, and they are willing to pay more for those, right. And, and hence, if we pretty much take this as, take this upon us, to premiumize and offer those better liquids quickly, right. And there's a huge amount of work that is happening around innovation, etc., to exactly that, you know, privatization is a trend that has started by consumers. But, you know, at the end of the day, it is our responsibility to kind of give back to those consumers with those beautiful liquids, which are, which, which, which, which connect, you know, at a deeper level with the consumers. And we also see that young consumers of today, they relate with brands that want to talk, you know, and, and hence, it was, you know, us going completely bold on, on Royal challenge and saying, Hey, you know what, we are going to be doing a campaign around, around choose gold and choose water, you know, as consumers, sometimes with the peer groups, you, you succumb under pressure and you, you, you go at it, right. And this was a campaign which said, Hey, you know what, take a break, don't succumb to the peer pressure, choose, choose bold, be bold and choose water. Looking ahead, what is the growth that you anticipate for the Argeo, particularly your category, any particular brand that you believe will be the growth driver because signature house of McDonald's. So where do you see which would be, which would be the leader when it comes to driving the growth? It's, I don't, I don't think we look at, look at any of these brands like that. We need to ensure that our brands are well positioned to address the needs of the consumers, right. So it's not just about one brand, but the entire category itself. And like I mentioned before, the category is moving towards criminalization, right. That's the, that's the big word is actually, you know, within the industry and the category, and more and more consumers are, you know, wanting to drink better, wanting, are willing to pay more hands for these offerings. And we need to ensure from our side that all of our brands are ready, you know, to ride on this particular journey to offer these premium, premium propositions to the consumers. So I don't think it's going to be about one brand anymore. It'll be about the entire portfolio. And hence, you will see the criminalization journey across, you know, across the entire portfolio. And I'm sure this is pretty much the industry talking as well. And you mentioned a double digit growth. So where do you see looking ahead? High double digit growth. How, what about? Oh, I think these are industry numbers that I was reading. But it's going to continue to grow of criminalization and something which is here to stay. And, and I personally believe it's, it's, it's going to be a very exciting journey for this entire category, I think, going forward. And it's for us how quickly it can be realized. You know, experience is something which is so integral to your category, right? Now, and the other element which is, you know, over the past five to six years, which we've seen in marketing is the increased use of technology. So if you can just share an example, how you're leveraging technology to elevate consumer experience and also drive customer centricity. Yeah. I think there are a huge amount of initiative that we've already taken and there's a huge amount of experimentation that is already going on in terms of, you know, how best can we use technology to reach, reach our consumers with the right messaging. I think the biggest example that we are very proud of is, is something that we had launched earlier called InTheBar.Form. So InTheBar.Form is essentially a website and it's a, it's a go-to place for, you know, for celebrations, for creating and curating, you know, special, for celebrating special moments. And we're witnessing great traction on, on, on this particular website, InTheBar.Form. In fact, in November, we've got 290,000 consumers engaging with our brands, you know, coming to us for cocktail recipes, bar, you know, bartending, hosting a party, etc. So we are seeing a lot of traction there and hence we are, you know, engaging with these consumers practically on one basis sometimes. The other, of course, is the use of marketing technology, which is, which is pretty much embedded in the entire category called customer relationship management, right? And, you know, ensuring that we, we have the right kind of data and how best are we able to use that to offer, you know, some really amazing experiences to our consumers as we, as we reach out to them. And then, of course, is e-commerce. e-commerce, however small, because it still, you know, attracts a lot of government regulations. This is something that we are looking at closely from a, you know, from a government standpoint. But when it comes to West Bengal specifically, that's one case where we are, we are working around, you know, reaching out to our consumers through various platforms, thereby creating a complete, you know, homely channel approach to our distribution and marketing. Aski updated its guidelines for qualification of brand extension products and services. What are your thoughts on that? I mean, look, we believe in self-regulation. So, you know, it's even before or even after, I mean, our policies are themselves very, very strong, you know, mandates in themselves. And we've got, we govern ourselves very, very strongly. And, you know, we, we have things like the International Alliance for Responsible Treatment. And then there is the DRU marketing code itself, which is very, very strict. And hence, you know, these are things that we, we automatically follow. So, so I think, I think following these rules meticulously and ensuring that all of our brand extensions conform to the, you know, conform to the legacies of the governments, our legitimate businesses themselves are something that we ensure, you know, so, so yes, I mean, there is, there are, at the same time, you know, we have our own laws, which are, which are super strict. And we follow them meticulously. Finally, what are the marketing trends that you foresee or are betting on for 2024? Yeah, I mean, prioritization is something that I think, I think we've spoken widely about. So that's, that's the, that's the thing that's going to continue. Sustainability, more and more, as more and more younger consumers, the millennials are coming into the category, the LDAs, etc. Driving purposeful brand positioning, sustainability is going to be a trend and you will pretty much see brands across which are going to be communicating at a much deeper level with the consumers. And of course, we spoke about Instagram formation and e-commerce. This is something that will, that will definitely continue within this category as well, you know, just to ensure that we are able to offer some really amazing experiences to our consumers, you know, maybe with the help of AI as well. So, so yeah, these are exciting times, like I said, experiential marketing is going to be, going to be another one where we're going to be using technology, etc. to bring some really amazing activations to life. Anything else you'd like to add, Varun? I think it's, it's for us really the, the, the bigger message, the larger messages accelerating our play, you know, within the prestige portfolio by brand purposeful positioning and criminalization, criminalization is here to stay. And it's really upon us now how quickly we can, we can accelerate and offer, offer some really amazing propositions that brings to our consumers. Thank you so much, Varun, for your time. And here's hoping the next year brings in high spirits for the Azure. Thank you so much.