Every brand starts as a thought.
From idea to consumer, and everything in between.
From idea to consumer, and everything in between, we helpWe help beverage founders build ready-to-market products and brands.
Reach out.An advisory partner built for anything beverage.
A consulting and advisory partner for the beverage industry, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Founded in early 2026, we help founders and management teams overcome operational and regulatory challenges, and build win-win businesses and strategic partnerships.
SpiritsWhisky, rum, gin, vodka, brandy and liqueurs
BeerLager, strong, wheat and craft
WineStill, sparkling and fortified
RTDsReady-to-drink cocktails, coolers and seltzers
Non-alcoholic (0.0)Zero-proof spirits, beers and adult soft drinks
5 beverage categories
Spirits, beer, wine, RTDs and non-alcoholic, for imported and Indian brands.
Operating verticals
4 regions
Headquartered in Bangalore, with capability across the north, east, west and south.
Where do you need us?
For the whole journey, or for the one stage you cannot do alone.
Market feasibility
Guesswork is expensive. Research, competitive analysis and commercial modelling, so every launch decision rests on evidence, not instinct.
- Research-backed market selection
- Competitor and brand benchmarking
- A ranked list of states to enter first
Liquid development
Formulation and blending partners who make the product you have in mind, and rework it until it matches.
- Recipe, shelf life and stability
- Sourcing and manufacturing partners
- Quality control, trial and commercial runs
Supply chain
Procurement, production and logistics, at home and across borders, so nothing stops between the supplier and the shelf.
- Domestic procurement and production
- Imports, customs and freight
- Warehousing and inventory movement
Sales and route to market
Execution from warehouse to retail, so sell-in becomes sell-through.
- Distributor appointment and management
- Sales planning and inventory movement
- Retail and institutional execution
- Team tracking and market expansion
Marketing
The brand and the demand: a name and a pack that work together, and a launch that earns attention, trial and loyalty, not just distribution.
- Positioning, packaging and identity
- Branding and marketing strategy
- Digital marketing
- Promotions and activations
Cost and finance
Cost cards and pricing that hold up across every state’s excise regime, and a five-year model you can raise capital on.
- State-wise cost cards and pricing
- Trade margin and scheme planning
- Investor-ready five-year model
- Valuation and ROI
Talent and compliance
Every licence and registration each state requires, and the people and policies to run the business.
- Distribution permits, EVC and label registration
- Specialist alcobev talent, sourced and placed
- HR policies, processes and training
Post-launch support
Once you launch, we stay alongside for twenty-four months: pricing, distributors and new markets.
What it takes to get there.
Three phases: proving the idea holds, building it, and staying two years past the launch.
We begin with a feasibility report on the category, region and price you intend to enter: who is already there, what they are not doing, and whether the gap you have seen is real or only apparent. If it does not hold, we tell you so — and you will have spent the least it is possible to spend finding out.
- Market overview, size and growth
- Category deep dive and segmentation
- Regulatory and compliance framework
- Consumer demographics and behaviour
- Pricing, economics and margins
- Financial model and capital requirements
Three streams run at once and are managed as one programme: the liquid and whoever will make it at volume, the brand and the pack it goes into, and the route by which it reaches a shelf. You get one plan, one timeline, and one person answerable for all of it.
Product
- Recipe, shelf life and stability
- Sourcing and manufacturing partners
- Quality control, trial and commercial runs
Brand
- Consumer positioning and brand architecture
- Packaging and visual identity
- Trademarks and intellectual property
- Communication and media plans
Route to market
- Distribution infrastructure and channels
- Sales systems and reporting
- Sales metrics and accountability
- Launch plans and tracking
Once the brand is on a shelf, every decision made before it begins to be tested. For a fee we stay alongside the business for twenty-four months — distributors, pricing, the second and third markets, and the fundraising conversations that follow a launch that works. You are not handed a report and left to it.
- Hands-on help running the business, for 24 months
- Distributor relationships and market support
- Pricing and sales optimisation
- Second and third market entries
- Fundraising conversations
The bench
behind us
No launch is the work of one firm. Where a stage needs a specialist — a laboratory, a printer, a trademark attorney, a distributor’s systems — we bring one in from our ecosystem and manage them as part of the programme. You are not handed a list of numbers to call.
The firms in our ecosystem are independent companies, not part of Spiritscope.
Built for
- A brand from abroad entering India
- An Indian brand launching
- An Indian brand expanding to new states and channels
Market research
Who buys the category, at what price and through which channel, and what the brands already there have left open. The evidence the feasibility rests on.
Phase 1
Partner name here
Contract manufacturing
Distilleries, blenders and bottlers that produce to your specification and volume, for brands, Indian or international, that would rather not own a plant.
Phases 2 and 3
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Laboratory and quality
Liquid testing, shelf-life work and audits at the production unit, so the bottle on the shelf is the one that was approved.
Phases 2 and 3
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Packaging and artwork
Glass, closures, cartons and labels sourced and proofed, with advice for retailers and distributors who want a range under their own name.
Phase 2
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Legal, trademarks and IP
The name searched and the mark filed before a word of the packaging is printed, and the brand protected once it is trading.
Phases 1 and 2
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Excise and licensing liaison
Label registrations, brand approvals and licences, state by state, handled by people who know how each state’s office works.
Phases 2 and 3
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Logistics and warehousing
Storage, inter-state movement and replenishment planned around each state’s rules, so stock is where the order is.
Phases 2 and 3
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Trade and distribution
Distributors, modern trade, canteens and, where the category may lawfully be sold, e-commerce: the route from the warehouse to a shelf or a screen.
Phases 2 and 3
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Digital, media and design
The brand book, the website and marketplace listings, and the performance marketing that follows, by studios we have briefed before.
Phases 2 and 3
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Fractional leadership
Senior channel, sourcing and strategy operators engaged by the month, until the brand is ready to hire its own.
Every phase
Partner name here
Most launches stall around the liquid, not in it.
Listings, compliance, channel rules and an unfamiliar consumer: that is where the time goes, and it is what the bench is for.
Reach out.
Who we work with
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Brands our ecosystem has worked with. The work was done across the ecosystem, not by Spiritscope alone.
What clients say
In the second month they told us our bottle would not survive a pallet drop. We changed the glass. It remains the most valuable advice we have paid for.
The people
behind the practice.
Spiritscope is not a department of a larger agency. It is a small practice of people who have spent their careers inside the businesses you are trying to join — building brands at Diageo, Rémy Cointreau, Moët Hennessy and United Breweries, and selling them through states that each have their own rules.
You deal with those people directly. Whoever answers your first message is whoever sits in the room when the decision matters.
A small practice of people who have spent their careers inside the businesses you are trying to join. Whoever answers your first message is whoever sits in the room when it matters.
Samar Singh Sheikhawat
Visionary Leader & Transformation Strategist
Thirty-seven years leading businesses in consumer products, retail and alcoholic beverages, in start-ups and established companies alike, for American, British, Indian and Dutch groups. As CMO of United Breweries he sat on the management committee of a USD 2 billion business. Since 2018 he has advised multinational and Indian clients on brand transformation, growth and leadership.
Thirty-seven years leading consumer, retail and alcoholic beverage businesses, latterly as CMO of United Breweries. An advisor on brand transformation and growth since 2018.
Questions and answers
FAQs
Still unsure how this fits your brand? A quick call clears it up faster than any FAQ.
Reach out.Do you cover multiple states?
Yes — we assess and rank markets state by state, since excise, pricing and competition differ sharply across India.
Is this useful pre-launch?
That is the ideal time. The strategy shapes your market choice, price and portfolio before you commit money to any of them.
What do I walk away with?
A prioritised market list, competitive benchmarks, cost cards and a launch strategy — all backed by data.
Can you help before we raise funds?
Yes — we build the model and plan you raise on, and prepare you for the questions investors will ask.
Do you value the company?
We provide a grounded valuation and ROI view based on your model and comparable Alcobev economics.
Will the model reflect Indian excise reality?
Always — state excise, taxation and distribution economics are baked into every projection.
We are new to India entirely — can you handle everything?
Yes. We support the full journey: import intelligence, pricing, regulatory and compliance, and go-to-market.
How do you handle state-level rules?
Registrations, labelling and distribution permits are managed state by state, since each has its own regime.
Can you benchmark our likely price?
We benchmark landed cost and shelf price against comparable imports so you enter competitively.
Do you cover competitor volumes too?
Yes — brand-wise sales analysis includes your competitive set, so you see the full picture.
How granular is the state-wise data?
We report performance state by state, which is essential given how differently each market behaves.
Is this a one-off or ongoing?
Either — a one-off deep-dive, or an ongoing intelligence feed to guide decisions through the year.
Do you handle both local and imported stock?
Yes — we run domestic procurement and production as well as overseas imports, customs and freight.
Can you manage permits and EVC?
We manage distribution permits, EVC, label registration and state distribution and corporation permits.
Do you cover both primary and secondary sales?
Yes — from distributor appointment and sales planning (primary) through retail and institutional execution (secondary).
Can you help us expand to new states?
Market-expansion strategy is part of the service, backed by performance tracking so growth is deliberate.
Do you track the sales team?
We track sales-team performance so you can see exactly where execution is strong and where it needs support.
Do you handle both strategy and execution?
Yes — from brand strategy and positioning through to digital, promotions and on-ground activation.
Can you work within Alcobev advertising rules?
Absolutely. Every campaign is built to respect the advertising and surrogate-marketing constraints of the category.
Is this for new or established brands?
Both — whether you are launching or reviving a brand, we tailor the strategy and activation to your stage.
Do you place people or just advise?
Both — we source and place specialist Alcobev talent, and set up the HR structure to manage them.
Can you build HR policies from scratch?
Yes. We create the HR policies, processes and compliance framework your business needs.
Do you train existing teams?
We run structured training and team-building across sales, operations and compliance to lift capability.
23 questions in 8 topics.
Did you know?
Traces of brewing in Raqefet Cave, near Haifa, are about 13,000 years old: some of the oldest evidence of beer anywhere.
Liu et al., Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
In India, alcohol is a state subject. Each state sets its own excise, licensing and pricing, so one bottle can carry a different price on each side of a border.
Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule, State List
India is the largest whisky market in the world by volume.
IWSR Drinks Market Analysis
Goa’s feni was among the first Indian spirits to be granted a geographical indication, in 2009.
Geographical Indications Registry, India
Indian single malt has been sold abroad since 2004, when Amrut launched in Glasgow.
Amrut Distilleries
A standard bottle of wine holds 750 ml: five glasses of 150 ml.
Built with us.Owned by you.Made to last.
From Bangalore, with capability across the north, east, west and south of India.
Tell us about
your idea.
A name, a way to reach you, and a line about what you are building. That is enough to begin.