Salud Beverages: Offering India’s very first ready-to-drink gin and tonic in a bottle

In a tropical country like India, beverages make for an interesting market to explore. 

With each state being its own diverse market of tastes, customs and trends, founders and entrepreneurs have a lot of room to ideate around their exact target audience, formulate recipes and tastes, while also building a fresh business category relevant to modern lifestyles. Brands are dime a dozen today, each of them having its own community of early adopters and fans. Hence, amidst such a scenario, how do you differentiate yourself and what’s the sort of offering that can be bought to market? 

The pandemic induced lockdowns changed many. It sometimes destroyed, sometimes reinforced and shaped new consumption habits, for both individuals, families, communities and enterprises. While many went through financial difficulties, many went through a surge in their personal or professional lifestyles. While situations often change from person to person based on his or her own socio-economic circumstances, the pandemic was a situation like no other. Such drastic differences in lifestyles serve as a marker for markets everywhere. People wanted to be refreshed, people wanted to relax. 

Today, at Bangalore Insider, we spoke to Ajay Shetty, the Founder & CEO of Salud Beverages. Based out of Bangalore, eyes firmly on the ever growing cosmopolitan crowd, Salud is India’s first ready-to-drink gin and tonic brand in a bottle. Below are the excerpts from our interaction. 

Please find below the requested responses from Ajay Shetty, Founder/CEO, Salud Beverages. 

Give a brief info about your startup?

Salud intends to be a Global Lifestyle Brand. Starting in the midst of the pandemic, we gave people a way to still de-stress and celebrate life. We are an aspirational brand with Life & Lifestyle as our ethos. Our flagship brand Salud G&T 2.0 was India’s very first ready-to-drink gin and tonic in a bottle. Our portfolio of easy-to-drink beverages will continue to grow beyond the current six gin refreshers. We also have music releases, fashion and lifestyle products, which will extend to experiences as well. Our vision is to change the way people celebrate life, with premium and gender-agnostic products and experiences that are modern, easy, inclusive and socially responsible.

What made you start your startup and what problem does it solve?

I have always been an entrepreneur at heart, and it started back in 2011. I thought wine in India had a massive gap, so I decided to relocate to work on the idea. There was a perception that wine was this snooty, inaccessible product, and I wanted to change that. I was also fascinated by wine’s relationship to food, and how it had an ancillary in every culture. The brand Myra was born. We successfully sold Myra, and I continued in the role of turning it from a wine brand into a lifestyle brand. In a way, that was the seed for Salud. Fast forward a few years, and the renaissance was taking off around the world, with a resurgence here in India as well. But we also noticed a significant gap in the alcobev industry. People were looking for something fresh, convenient, and easy to drink. That’s when the idea of Salud came about, starting with G&T 2.0. Given the pandemic times in which we launched, we wanted to be more than just an alcobev brand, marketing ourselves as a way for people to find smaller celebrations and moments to enjoy. This all tied in with our initial inspiration – of giving people ways to take it easy in complicated times.

Tell us about yourself, your previous jobs/ventures? What were you doing before this startup?

– I completed my graduation from Christ College, Bengaluru and followed up with a master’s degree from New York Institute of Technology and New Jersey Institute of Technology. I started my career in the finance sector. I was a banker with Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch and that gave me a firm grounding in how financial markets operate globally, with experience in New York and Hong Kong. This stood me in good stead when I embarked on my entrepreneurship journey.

Where is your startup based? Why do you think that is the best place for you?

– Salud is based in Bangalore, India. It has a rich cosmopolitan culture, and of course, it’s the pub capital of India. What better city for Salud to grow in?!

As a startup founder, what are you paranoid about? What keeps you awake at night?

Nothing keeps me awake at night! Paranoia is pointless, really. I feel there is no point stressing about things I cannot control. So I make sure I have everything that I can, under control. I plan out my tasks and agendas for the day and week ahead, and that helps me sleep just fine! It’s how I function as a human being

Who are your competitors and how are you better than them?

I honestly just feel we are our own competitors. The alcobev market has always been a crowded one, but there’s also always room to make a mark. Our strength lies in constantly evolving our own portfolio, and staying true to our roots and to our consumers, and constantly trying to one up ourselves and be better.

How hard is it to have a work-life balance as a startup founder and how do you manage it?

It isn’t hard if you have a real passion for what you do, well-rounded interests and are surrounded by good people. You know that old adage, if you love what you do you don’t work a single day in your life? That really does apply to me. However, yes, it is also important to take a break from the business. I make it a point to take the time for friends and my family. I play sports or read when I have downtime. I’m passionate about travelling and work also helps me travel, so that works out well.

Have you raised funding? If yes, then we would like to know the details. If not then please tell us if you are looking to raise.

Salud has managed to raise $1.1 million from a clutch of investors. These include actor Rana Daggubati, former managing director of Microsoft India Srinivas Koppolu, and Anthill Ventures. We are fortunate to be backed by a group of investors and HNIs, along with friends and family – all of whom share our passion and believe in the vision for the brand as much as we do.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about you? Why do they have that? What’s the reality?

None that I know of! I’m an open book and a straight shooter. What you see is pretty much what you get with me!

What gets you excited about this company?

As mentioned earlier, Salud is not just an alcobev brand but a lifestyle brand. This opens up many exciting avenues. What started with one product as a friends and family business has already grown into so much more. The focus remains on making interesting, uncomplicated drinks that have universal appeal and modern flavours. We are looking to introduce ourselves on the world stage next. As well as expanding our other ancillaries. We have what we think is a unique story – our pandemic start, our people, our idea of Salud and all that it stands for. That’s what really excites me!

Tell us how a day in your life looks like? Your schedule for a day right from the time you get up till you hit the bed at night.

I don’t have a hard and fast schedule, but I do usually allocate hours for my work and business across the day. I like to catch up with the news in the morning, do a lot of reading before I get on my phone. If I am travelling, I am usually on calls, focusing on Salud. My evenings are reserved for friends and family. Given Covid times, I have been spending more time with family and a lot less going out. 

Tell us about your team and how did you meet each other?

They are all people I have known for a long time – friends, close acquaintances I have worked with in the past. It was very important to me that my core team be filled with experts in their respective fields, people whom I trust and can count on to take ownership alongside me. They have been able to successfully take the concept and concretise the vision I have for the brand. That and how well we work together to achieve our goals for Salud is what it is about at the end of the day.