Making The Most Out of Craft Beverage Spirit Globally With Innovation and Quality

Owners of Latambarcem Brewers in Goa, brothers Anish and Aditya Ishan Varshnei came back home to enter the craft brewing market in India. In an exclusive interview with The Tribal Box, they share their journey with us.

Entering the Craft Beer Market

“We were both working and leading comfortable lives in the U.S. However, the same routine day after day and perhaps staying away from home got us to a saturation point. Not long after, we started looking for some interesting options to capitalize upon, which is why we started studying the Indian Beer Market thoroughly. We used to make our own craft beer at home in the U.S which was quite fun. Besides that, I was really into the craft beer movement that was happening back home, and hence, we went in full throttle with a clear aim to do something serious in this segment.”

Launching Borecha (The Kombucha Brand)

“We worked on our business plans, packed our bags, and moved back to Goa for starting the venture sometime in the middle of 2018. We were clear that we wanted to start a Brewery and started working for the government clearances. While the brewery was being set up, we started playing around with the idea of making Kombucha too, upon discovering that there were few brands of Kombucha in the Indian market, and the ones that were there were not offering high-quality Kombucha. My brother Anish used his culinary skills to work on the flavours. Together, we made a highly streamlined process of making Kombucha and launched it under a brand name called Borecha. When we offered the product to people, we got a great response which was all we needed to scale-up slowly and enter the market successfully.”

Popularizing Maka Di (The Craft Beer Brand)

“Borecha was started in Goa and was being offered in Goa only up until COVID. When the pandemic hit, we started selling it from e-commerce channels as well and the product started doing really well. After taking off with Borecha, we also successfully launched our craft beer brand called Makadi, which is available in about 300 outlets of Goa. The response for Makadi also has been tremendous and we are extremely happy with it. We aspire for diversifying our reach to all the states in the country and have plans to enter cities such as Bangalore, Pune, and Mumbai very soon.”

Product Innovation and High Quality

“Our plans are quite extensive and are fundamentally based on a sharp focus on product innovation and world-class quality. If you ask us to sum it all up for you then we are not just a craft beer or a Kombucha company, rather a craft beverage company that is constantly exploring and coming out with new products. We do not compromise when it comes to quality and we take pride in that. We source ingredients from all across the world just to make sure that the ingredients that make the beer are high quality. Our malts and hops come from countries all over the globe, our oranges come from Spain, our honey is sourced from Jim Corbett National Park, and so on.

“We have a vision to not just expand in the country but go global very soon. Market scope is one goal we have in mind very clearly but most of all, we are aiming for innovation more than anything. We are certain that with our focus and superlative customer-first approach, we will be able to become a widely popular brand very soon.”

Anish and Aditya Varshnei share two pointers for growth that they have learned from their entrepreneurial journey until now. 

1) Be patient with the market. It is going to take some time until you see results.

“When you launch a new product in the market, there is always some lag time until you see a good response. You will see a lull before your product starts taking off in the market. Make sure that you are patient at that time.”

Learning: You cannot expect your products to get picked up from the shelves right off the bat. Creating awareness about it should be the main goal with substantial marketing and offers so that the customers know more about it and get attracted to respond. 

2) You might be selling the most amazing product but going ahead without financial planning is a recipe for disaster.

“During the periods between the launch and response time in the market, your finances must be planned so that no problem arises on the financial front.”

Learning: Plan your finances because growth takes time. This will save you from any financial problems and prove beneficial in the long run.