Varun Beverages enters alcobev with ex-Diageo executive Prathmesh Mishra
Varun Beverages is setting up wholly owned subsidiary KIVA Spirits and Company to enter India’s ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages market. Former Diageo executive Prathmesh Mishra will serve as CEO and MD, following revised PepsiCo terms that remove restrictions beyond bottling.
What happened
Varun Beverages will establish KIVA Spirits and Company in India to enter ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, appointing former Diageo executive Prathmesh
Key facts
- Wholly owned India subsidiary KIVA Spirits and Company to enter ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages
- Prathmesh Mishra has more than 30 years of consumer-business experience
- PepsiCo India bottling agreement extended to April 30, 2049 from April 30, 2039
Why this matters
With PepsiCo restrictions eased, Varun Beverages is now positioned to use KIVA Spirits as a platform for RTD brand partnerships, licensing deals and selective acquisitions in India’s fragmented alcobev market.
What to watch
- KIVA's first brand trademark filings, excise approvals and state license applications.
- Announcements of manufacturing, contract bottling or distillery partnerships.
- Hiring of former spirits, beer, state-excise and horeca executives beyond the CEO appointment.
- Clarification of whether KIVA will own brands, manufacture products, distribute third-party brands or operate as a joint venture platform.
- PepsiCo or VBL disclosures defining permitted use of shared distribution, plants, coolers, warehouses and customer relationships.
- Initial launch states and SKUs, especially whether the portfolio is spirit-based RTD, beer-adjacent, wine coolers or non-alcoholic adult mixers.
- Changes in state excise policy, RTD category definitions, direct-to-consumer rules and taxes affecting canned alcohol economics.
- Quick-commerce listings, modern-trade placement and horeca menu adoption after launch.
- Appoint an alcobev commercial, regulatory and state-excise leadership team under Prathmesh Mishra.
- Select initial launch states based on RTD licensing, premium consumption, urban density and quick-commerce penetration.
- Secure manufacturing capacity through a greenfield plant, contract manufacturer or brewery/distillery partnership.
- File trademarks and excise label registrations for spirit-based RTD, hard seltzer, flavored alcoholic beverage and low-ABV formats.
- Pursue brand licensing, distribution or co-development discussions with global spirits companies and Indian alcobev producers.
- Build a ring-fenced sales and compliance organization while testing where VBL's cold-chain, warehousing and retail relationships can be used without PepsiCo conflict.
- Launch limited-market consumer tests in cans and small-format bottles, supported by horeca activations and digital-age-gated marketing.