Tilaknagar Industries Limited (TI) has announced that it will acquire a 10% stake in Spaceman Spirits Lab (SSLPL) for INR 9.75 crore. The investment will be made in two tranches through a combination of equity shares and compulsory convertible preference shares. SSLPL, which owns Samsara gin and was established in 2020, had an annual turnover of INR 2.7 crore during FY22.
TI’s investment in SSLPL will enable the company to enter the premium craft gin market segment. According to a BSE filing, the acquisition is expected to be completed on or before 30 June 2023.
With this investment, TI now has a presence in the growing segment of local craft gin brands in India. The success of local craft gin brands has caught the attention of the big players, including United Spirits, which acquired a minority stake in Nao Spirits in March last year and has significant expansion plans, both domestically and in international markets.
According to data from global alcohol market analysts IWSR, in India, small handmade batches of local gin account for nearly half of the mass-premium gin segment, which had sales of about 168,000 cases (of nine liters each) in 2021, up from 80,400 cases in 2019.
On the other hand, the demand for Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) gin brands in the value segment has shrunk in recent years as consumers traded up for pricier brands. In 2021, the value segment of gin fell to about 413,000 cases, down from 895,000 cases in 2019.
Tilaknagar Industries Limited (TI) is among India’s top ten largest distillers, founded in 1933 as Maharashtra Sugar Mills. TI sells Mansion House Brandy, which outsold Diageo’s McDowell’s No 1 to become India’s biggest brandy brand by volume in 2021, with sales of over 5.5 million cases during the first nine months of FY23.
TI’s investment in SSLPL demonstrates the company’s willingness to expand its portfolio and enter the growing segment of local craft gin brands in India. With the success of local craft gin brands, the acquisition is likely to provide TI with the opportunity to leverage the growing popularity of Samsara gin and further diversify its product range.
