Role of Consumer Insights

India’s alcohol industry operates in a distinctive landscape— a blend of tradition, cultural norms, and international influences. Consumer preferences are continually evolving, and the industry navigates the added complexity of limited access to traditional advertising channels. In such a dynamic and regulated environment, staying ahead requires more than instinct. It demands proactive and agile business practices and innovation, that leverages real-world data-driven insights and strategic marketing approaches to let the brands meet consumers in the spaces they desire.

At Bacardi India, our guiding philosophy is simple yet powerful: keeping ‘consumers at the heart’ of everything we do. From ideation to execution, our goal is to delight our audiences with high quality offerings that resonate with their interests. Hence, we consistently invest behind robust insights-based learning plan.

One of the areas where we have built a legacy of consumer-centric and insights-based performance is Bacardi’s suite of iconic experiential platforms. Over the years, we’ve built some of India’s favourite experiential platforms like BACARDÍ NH7 Weekender, CASA BACARDÍ, and many more. We prioritised this space given the limitations on traditional advertising, and over the years, experiential marketing has become a cornerstone of our strategy. It enables us to engage directly with our discerning consumers, connecting with them through a variety of new cultural touchpoints in India and cultivate brand love that has become a part of the BACARDÍ brand identity.

As we refined our experiential offerings in India over the years, we’ve seen that it is not only important to consistently listen to the consumers to be able to and curate best experiences that resonate with them but also measure and evaluate their impact on the brand and business. We are always looking for new and unique ways to understand what consumers are looking for, and offer them the best and most engaging platforms and at the same time deliver higher ROIs.

As I said, earlier, despite being a global company, we believe in staying true to local consumers and cultural truth. Our deep understanding of the Indian consumer informs our marketing and creative decisions, and we actively engage in keeping track of modern cultural trends.

One of the most significant examples of this approach is the launch of our latest localized campaign for BACARDÍ MIX’R – ‘It’s a mood’. It was strongly rooted on the local insight that India’s youth is not afraid of embracing their unique self, expressing themselves freely and making every moment count. It’s a beautiful rendition of our global positioning “Do what moves you” - but tailored to the unique attitudes and aspirations of India’s youth.

We have also recently launched BREEZER's new positioning, ‘Play On’ which strongly resonates with today's Gen Z. This generation is seeking authentic connections, a sense of belonging, and being part of a community, while navigating a world that is overstimulated and intense. They look for moments with their tribe where they can have fun and be "not-so-serious". BREEZER Play On is a cool and playful take on the idea of not being serious all the time.

Another, important growth pillar at Bacardi India is Innovation. This industry thrives on keeping consumers excited through new exciting offerings. We strongly believe that to get the innovation right, you must first get the consumer insight right. Hence, consumer research is at the centre of our innovation strategy.

A prime example of this is the launch of the BACARDÍ MIX’R in 2022 – our first-ever range of premium non-alcoholic mixers for the Indian market. This new launch was well researched and designed as per the evolving consumer preferences, which were increasingly inclined towards convenient drinking options and growing cocktail culture including at home.

Another great example is LEGACY, our newly launched premium Indian whisky. Whisky is a cluttered category in India with traditional category codes & loyalty base so it’s difficult to differentiate and find a unique space. But, by listening closely to consumers, de-coding their changing preferences and mindset, we found a truly authentic Indian space i.e. today’s generation proudly celebrate and value the unique passionate spirit of India. While many Indian whisky brands still follow international branding codes, LEGACY differentiated itself by carving a distinctive identity and embracing India’s unique spirit and cultural pride.

We test the entire mix of new launches with consumers – concept, name, product, packaging, pricing & positioning. This journey of keeping consumer at the heart of our every decision doesn’t end there, as we also consistently evaluate them to understand their performance, growth drivers and barriers. Post launch evaluation helps us select and invest in the right growth levers - and in the case of LEGACY, it helped us increase the brand awareness by +17 pts and trial by +3 pts.

Trade partnerships are also equally important to generate trials and foster long-term brand loyalty. We took on an industry first: biggest and most robust pan India shopper research in 2022 to gather direct shopper data that helps us optimize spends, prioritize the most effective trade levers and drive more effective returns.

In today’s fast-evolving business environment, the need for real-time consumer insights has never been greater. As the landscape changes rapidly, so too must our approach to capturing and leveraging data.

At Bacardi India, our research partners are more than just service providers, they are trusted collaborators and thought leaders. In this evolving environment, the role of market research agencies is critical in enabling us to achieve our strategic objectives and maintain our competitive edge.