Bengaluru-based startup O’ Be Cocktails proclaimed today that it has raised Rs 3.5 crore to fund its first round of investment, led by First Check, Letsventure, Bhavish Aggarwal, Ankit Bhati of Ola and Abhishek Goyal – founder of Tracxn and Sprout Investments. The investments raised in this round would fund O’ Be Cocktails’ core strategy to increase sales through retailers as well as continue to increase production of its new premium cocktail range.
The global ready-to-drink cocktails market size is expected to reach $1,775.1 Million by 2028, registering a compound yearly growth rate of 12% during the forecast period as per the Global Market Research Report. As per a report published by Goldstein Market Intelligence, India is the third largest market for alcoholic beverages, after China and Russia, estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.4 percent during the
forecast period 2017-2030.
With most of the country under lockdown and movement restricted, sales of RTD drinks surged previous year, and with an increase in consumers who prefer to drink cocktails at home, O’Be Cocktails has identified a gap in the market for ready-to-drink cocktails. It can be tried anytime, anywhere, informs a press release.
The startup was initiated by Nitesh Prakash in 2020. “Everyone loves a cocktail, but not everyone has the knowledge or the means to make one at home. The Indian alcohol market is still in very early stages of growth in per capita consumption and premium. With O’ Be Cocktails We have seen a massive consumer response and greater demand for RTD alcoholic beverages. Our goal is to become the growth leader in the ready-to-drink beverage category through the right mix of product, brand and sales,” states Nitesh Prakash, founder and CEO of O’Be Cocktails.
The Indian alcohol market is a huge and fast growing market of $35 billion. However, we haven’t seen a lot of product innovation from incumbents over the past few years even though newer categories like ready-to-drink cocktails are gaining a lot of popularity internationally. We believe it is time for ready-to-drink cocktails to revolutionize the Indian market, and we love the product and brand that Nitesh and his team are building,” stated Kushal Bhagia, CEO of FirstCheque.vc.
The brand is presently present in 200 premium stores and has recorded strong growth and consumer reception for its cocktails across Bangalore and Goa. In financial year 21-22, the company aims to launch new cocktail types and reach more than 1,000 outlets in other urban markets.
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