Stirring up new opportunities

Why Dabur's Real brand is eyeing the cocktail mixer market

- Christina Moniz

From James Bond's Martini to Don Draper's Old Fashioned, Hollywood movies and television series have used cocktails and accompanying glassware to set the tone and add a layer of complexity to the narrative. With just over 1% of the global cocktail mixers market in 2024, India's on-screen diegesis might still be waiting for its cocktail moment, but consumer goods player Dabur has decided to get into the spirit. It recently expanded its Real brand with the launch of its new cocktail mixers, Real Cheers.

Available in four variants—green apple mojito, 'jamuntini', ginger ale and tonic water, Real is extending its expertise in fruit juices to its new cocktail mixers by curating a more premium drinking experience.

Dabur's Real brand has been one of its best performing, crossing the ₹1,000-crore mark around three years ago. But is the move of pushing it into an uncharted territory like cocktail mixers worth the risk?

Monisha Prasher, marketing head for beverages at Dabur India Limited says, "Cocktail mixers are among the fastest-growing segments in the non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink beverages category, and have particularly caught the fancy of millennials and Gen Z consumers. Given that a significant part of juice consumption is in the form of mixers, Real Cheers was a natural extension for the Real brand."