: The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited, popular by its acronym Tasmac, has recently whittled down its menu card. Around 31 Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and five beer brands have gone out of shelves in the last 30 days.
The reason, two firms - Mohan Breweries and Distilleries Ltd. and Imperial Spirits and Wine Pvt. Ltd. have downed the shutters due to financial issues. These units together were making eight lakh cases of liquor a month, of which 6.5 lakh cases were brandy.
To compensate production, these orders have been diverted to other distilleries. “As soon as these units closed, we gave more orders to the remaining distilleries and breweries. However, the brands made by the closed units cannot be replicated by others. For instance, Mohan Breweries made Old Monk Delux Rum, Old Napolean VSOP Delux brandy and no one else can replicate it,” a senior Tasmac official said on condition of anonymity.
The State had 11 distilleries and seven breweries, and with this closure, the number stands at nine distilleries and six breweries. There are 288 liquor brands sold through various Tasmac outlets in Tamil Nadu. Around 45 lakh cases of IMFL and 20 lakh cases of beer are churned out by these units per month.
The official further pointed out that they had to request the other units to increase brandy manufacturing immediately. “Tamil Nadu is a key brandy State. Currently, 75 per cent of the liquor market is brandy, 15 per cent is rum, while wine and whisky have 5 per cent market share each,” he said.
But distillery owners are not happy with more orders given to them. There is a risk of their brand not moving well in the market. “Yes, we have got more orders now. But when consumers don’t get the brand of their choice, there is a risk of our products remaining on shelves. Consumption analysis in the State shows that people stick to certain brands when it comes to brandy,” said the CEO of a Chennai- based distillery, which has got orders to make more bottles.
Another Tasmac official in the retail vending department indicated that this will also pave the way for more new distilleries to come in. “There have been few enquiries to set up new units but the department [prohibition and excise] needs to decide,” he said.
