The Godfather maker makes a premium run with craft gin and single malts-OxBig News Network

DeVANS’ premium craft gin, which will be priced at around ₹3,000 for a 750ml bottle, will be launched in Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and Goa, said Prem Dewan, chairperson and managing director.

The company, which is funding its growth through internal accruals, is also preparing to launch two variants of its GianChand single malt whisky as well as developing other super-premium liquor brands that are slated for release in this financial year (2025-26), he said.

Dewan also has premium plans for the company’s beer business, which accounted for about 65% of DeVANS’ turnover in 2024-25. The remaining 35% of the company’s revenue came from selling bulk malt spirits to other liquor companies.

As rising raw material costs squeeze margins in the economy alcohol segment, liquor makers with premium and super-premium portfolios are doubling down on high-end variants.

Last week, Amrut Distilleries Pvt. Ltd, best known for its namesake single malt whisky, said it was expanding its premium rum portfolio with the world’s first single-jaggery rum.

A spirited journey

Jammu-based DeVANS, best known for brewing Godfather beer, launched its first single malt whisky, GianChand, in 2021. While the company has been producing malt spirits for other liquor firms since 1961, its own whisky brand has seen steady sales growth. (The company did not disclose its revenues.)

DeVANS’ new spirits are being produced at its Jammu facility, which has a capacity to generate over 400,000 litres of spirits per month. “Our facility has some of India’s biggest pot stills and can house over 25,000 barrels at full capacity for malt spirit maturation,” Dewan said.

Vikram Achanta, co-founder and chief executive of Tulleeho, a Delhi-based drinks consultancy, said DeVANS’ journey from beer to single malts has been interesting.

“Their DNA as a group has always been beer and (they) have successfully premiumised their beer portfolio too. They have also done the same in their B2B (business-to-business) supply of malt spirit to other companies,” Achanta said, adding that it was natural for the company to create its own single malt brand two years ago.

“They have taken gingerly steps to come to this point but have the potential to grow from here because it’s a very good product,” he said.

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Achanta, however, added that the single malts business in India was becoming competitive with many international brands entering the market and various Indian players keen on expanding their capacity to meet demand.

India sold around 675,000 cases of single malt whisky in 2023, growing 16% over 2022, per the latest data provided by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies. Domestic brands accounted for over half of these sales.

The Godfather maker’s premium run

DeVANs entered the premium beer segment in 2024 with its ‘Six Fields’ brand, which initially debuted as a wheat beer and now includes a Pilsner with 4.7% alcohol and Brute, a strong lager with over 6% alcohol.

More premium beer brands are on the cards for FY26, said Dewan. He didn’t disclose more details except to say that at present premium beers made up a small pie of DeVANS beer business but was poised to grow.

Six Fields is priced at around ₹150 per can. Pilsner and Brute cans are priced at around ₹90 and ₹140, respectively. Godfather costs about ₹130. The prices vary across states.

Overall, Dewan expects DeVANS’ beer sales in 2024-25 to have increased by 50% as the company expanded its production capacity and entered new markets, including Maharashtra, said Dewan.

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DeVANS plans to tap India’s surging demand for beer by increasing the capacity of its Jammu facility, which currently is about 40,000 kilolitres, by 40%. “We will be applying for permission soon to extend our operations,” Dewan said.

In Maharashtra, where DeVANS introduced all its beers earlier in FY25, the company is securing a partnership with a brewery to sell about a million cases of beer in the state in its first full year. Currently, the company relies on co-packing arrangements in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to cater to the Maharashtra beer market.

To tipsy summers

About two years ago, Dewan pegged DeVANS’ production capacity at over 156,600 kilolitres of beer per month. The company’s monthly capacity, including that of its own breweries and externally commissioned plants, has since increased to 240,600 kilolitres.

In addition to this, its distillers can produce up to 60,000 kilolitres of malt spirits and Indian made foreign liquor, or IMFL.

The Godfather maker sees demand for beer looking strong due to heatwaves across India.

“We are expecting to grow 50% in the summer quarter (April-June),” Dewan said. “We should also be able to manage our capacity to sidestep any disruptions in states where policies are changing over. We have increased our tie-ups and have added various states to our sales.”

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