The Moodie Davitt Report brings you the latest instalment in our popular new series Ten Easy Pieces*, in which we get up close and personal with establishing and emerging personalities in travel retail via just ten easy and informal questions.
This time we meet Indian entrepreneur Gautom Menon, founder of Wild Tiger rum, a man who lives and breathes India, Kerala and rum, and who signs off his e-mails, “Have a rum-tastic day”. As reported Wild Tiger is targeting duty free and travel retail as a key international channel.
1. Tell us about Gautom Menon: where were you brought up and how did that experience shape you?
I’m a native of Kerala state but born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu which is in South India. I moved as an infant to Kuwait where my dad was a financial advisor to the Kuwaiti Government. We moved back to India just before the Gulf war. Before we moved my father categorically stated to the Kuwaiti authorities that an attack by Saddam was imminent and they didn’t heed. The rest as they say is history.
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Gautom Menon has a (Wild) Tiger by the tail and he’s determined to take it all the way | |
Once in Coimbatore I went to an Anglo-Indian school and was always into sports and acting in school plays. Coimbatore is a tier-two city where life is not as crazy as the other metros, and we had lots of family around including my maternal grandparents, which was nice during my formative years.
School for me was what I could learn more outside the four walls of a classroom – I’ve always been a sociable and vocal person and that’s moulded me into believing in friendships and building enduring relationships even in the business world.
If I were to believe my former tutors, they swear by the fact that they haven’t come across a bigger prankster since me.
2. And your business career to date? Key moments?
Wild Tiger is my second stint you could say in liquor. Back in 2006 I was literally forced into the family business when my dad had to undergo a serious surgery. Just before that surgery he had launched a herbal rum called Malabaricus.
I tried my best to promote it but without much success at the time. It was like I was trying to sell his dream about a Kerala product. Many other turbulent factors and my future aspirations for Wild Tiger meant that I took a sabbatical to study further and travel before I got back into it with absolute clarity and purpose like I have now.
It’s so much fun when it’s your own dream and frankly speaking selling ‘Brand India’ is more fun and promising than selling ‘Brand Kerala’ or any singular region of India. During my time away from business I also got a solid year-and-a-half’s experience spearheading business development at India’s leading luxury & experiential agency in Bombay where I did tremendously well for them in generating new business revenues and the sponsorship department.
3. You’ve now got a (Wild) Tiger by the tail. How did it happen? When was the ‘eureka’ moment?
I wouldn’t say there was one eureka moment as such, it was more like a sequence of events and thoughts. Back in 06 & 07 I’d visit some of the largest drinks expos around the world just to get an understanding, without a business motive, and was alarmed at the lack of representation of an Indian brand. Knowing that we were one of the largest drinking demographics it really bothered me.
But I also saw an opportunity to create a quintessential Indian brand worthy of international stature and repute and Wild Tiger was born, at least conceptually. And here we are now doing our best to roar into new markets and new retail spaces staying true to our roots with rum and the Tiger imagery.
Click on the icon to view the Wild Tiger rum story |
4. How difficult is it for an independent entrepreneur to make it in the drinks and travel retail business?
A decade ago it was impossible to sell Brand India to the world; we are subjected to something called ‘provenance paradox’. As an emerging economy we are not always known to the world for the finest quality even though we could match French craftsmanship or chic Italian design.
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“For many new brands travel retail is just about sporadic visibility but we are very focused to be in it long term, delivering both uniqueness and value to retailers and consumers“ |
Gautom Menon |
But today Brand India is thriving. We are the fastest-growing middle class in the world and we have a visionary Prime Minister who breathes and sleeps Brand India and this has prompted us to print in national colours on our labels “Proud Produce of India”.
Also in the recent past home-grown brands such as Amrut have shown that India can produce some of the finest single malt whiskies in the world. If a whisky can capture the imagination of international markets then certainly we have all the key ingredients to produce some world-class rum. So we are lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
The travel retail business is a different beast all together; I’ve been at it for close to a year now and it’s only now we are gaining acceptance. Buyers have realised that not only do we have a cracking product and packaging but also an authentic story to go with it, which travellers are likely to gain fondness for.
For many new brands travel retail is just about sporadic visibility but we are very focused to be in it long term, delivering both uniqueness and value to retailers and consumers.
5. Where do you see the brand, say, five years from now?
As we speak we are still a “cub”. In five years we’d like to be known as the brand that built itself on authenticity and social responsibility whilst still having an incredible amount of fun delivering unparalleled consumer experiences and value.
We don’t plan to have more than four brand extensions as part of the Wild Tiger Rum family. It’s all been planned in such a way that they will complement each other and complete the family.
We would be not just available in 50 countries but I’d like it to be “extensively available” and also be the best premium liquor gifting option under the US$50 category where we fit in well. One of our targets is to be present on land, sea and air; in fact that objective is almost nearing accomplishment, so I guess Wild Tiger being available in space would be a cool thing to aspire to, who knows? 🙂 Wild Tiger ET Edition may be launched there.
Proud Produce of India: The label is a statement both of patriotism and purpose for Gautom Menon |
6. Tell us about (real) Indian tigers. What’s your interest? And how important is your Foundation* work?
It’s a creature that’s caught my imagination and mesmerised me since I was a toddler and that is one of the main reasons of going with the tiger imagery in building this brand. Despite being the national animal of the country we’ve literally watched it slip into extinction. From having 100,000 tigers a century ago to just 2,200 today, it’s a shameful statistic and we are committed to raising awareness and funds to save the tiger and its habitat.
Our seriousness about this can be attributed by the fact that we have registered and set up our own non-profit called WTF (Wild Tiger Foundation), where 10% profits from the liquor sales go into our conservation initiative. We are not wildlife experts, just enthusiasts, so we call upon the best tiger experts in the country to mentor us and ensure that the funds are spent on areas and avenues that require most attention. We have adopted two tiger reserves in Southern India and hope to make a difference in this landscape.
It’s still very early days for the Foundation. Apart from proceeds from liquor sales we also plan to generate funds from gala dinners, auctioning time with celebs and through the sale of quirky merchandise. It’s a great little team of like-minded wildlife enthusiasts who are entrepreneur buddies of mine.
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| It’s a great (Tiger) tale, the kind I also relish hearing – and writing. Absolutely rum-tastic in fact. |
7. Who have been the formative influences in your life?
My dad Mr Mohan Menon for lending me his shoulders to reach out for my dreams. Nothing that I wanted was too out of my reach thanks to the freedom I was handed. A lot of business ideas I acquired came from my many travels that were more leisure-oriented and he never once came down on me for my gallivanting. He always knew that travel widens one’s horizons.
Then there is my maternal uncle Mr K Vijay Kumar IPS, who is known as India’s “super cop”. He is one of the most-admired police personnel of all time with an unblemished record. He has put an end to many tyrants and unlawful elements of society, including once India’s most-wanted man, forest brigand ‘Veerappan’.
The sincerity and work life balance he possesses has to be seen to be believed. He’s in his mid-60s now and he looks and works with the tenacity of a 35 year old. So I don’t have to look too much beyond my family for individuals who have influenced me and moulded my thought processes.
From a famous person perspective it has to be Andre Agassi. The guy was flamboyant and brash in his early days. He experienced the highest highs of life and the lowest lows; he was bruised physically and mentally but evolved and became a better man, a better player, a better human being. And by the time he finished his career he was a tennis legend and an elderly statesman of the game. And today no other sporting legend has given more back to the community than Agassi has.
He continues to inspire me for reasons beyond his former prowess on the courts. For someone that grew up idolising Agassi and Steffi Graf and then for them to be married and lead such a great life is a fairy tale of sorts, it still feels like I’m dreaming. You bet there is a specially engraved Wild Tiger Rum gift case with Agassi’s name that’s waiting to be gifted to him in person. Watch this space 🙂
8. If there was one place to holiday in India before I died, not that I’m planning to for a while, where would it be and why?
Pangong Lake in the Indo-Sino border of the Himalayas. I’ve seen it in movies and photos and it’s just too magical and I’m not sure what great occasion I need to visit there. Probably dying there is not a bad idea, so it can wait another 60-odd years whilst I continue to mesmerise over it and also spread the love of rum.
9. Define India in two sentences.
Incredibly unpredictable for both good and bad. Culturally colourful, diverse and spellbinding.
10. What’s the most ‘rum-tastic’ moment you’ve had in your life to date?
You know, back in High School we had these four sporting houses each named after a wild cat. Now there’s no prizes for guessing which one I represented.
In my final year, or grade 12 as it’s known in India, I had the honour of captaining the overall Tigers team. On the final sports day it was neck and neck between Tigers and Panthers, though we knew we had fared better overall. Finally when the guest of honour holding the trophy announced the “Tigers” team as the winners, we simply lost it, the euphoria was unexplainable.
All I can say is that we did a victory lap much before we collected the trophy; it was a bit embarrassing for the chief guest who was ignored for few minutes, but all that mattered to us was that Tigers had won and it was the only way we knew to celebrate. Simply the EPIC moment of my life, Rum-tastic actually!
Too bad it didn’t involve any Rum though 🙂
*PREVIOUSLY FEATURED IN TEN EASY PIECES
Meet Daniel Wellington Founder Filip Tysander
