Rana Daggubati and two partners invest $10 million in new tequila brand

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Mint. "We worked with a good master distiller and started contract manufacturing but the branding began about a year ago. This is a celebration drink, and there's a unique way that India celebrates.

Telangana, for instance, has a palm wine called Kallu which is used as a celebratory drink. Mexicans also celebrate their local spirits, and we wanted to get into this business because there has been an evolution in the way Indians drink tequila," said Daggubati. He has previously partnered with Prasad Vanga from Anthill Ventures, which was an investors in gin and tonic mixer brand Salud Beverages.Vadlamudi owns a dozen breweries across the country under the brand Ironhill India.

The company is betting that tequila's popularity in India will grow over the next decade. About $5 million are already deployed for production and white labelling, and the rest will be spent on distribution and expansion until the company turns profitable in two years, he said. The next phase, when the brand comes to India, will require another tranche of investment, he added.India has just a handful of brands that sell high-quality sipping tequila.

Not long ago, Diageo launched its Don Julio tequila in a few variants made from agave grown 6,500 feet above sea level in the highlands of Jalisco. Others such as Jose Cuervo and Patrón from Bacardi also have a presence here. DesmondJi, an Indian firm cultivating agave in the Deccan plateau, has emerged as a key supplier for companies looking to produce agave-based spirits in India, such as Maya Pistola Agavepura.Also read: Ditched by the rich, vodka needs a new spirit"When you go to Goa, for instance, you find so many different types of craft brands.