Distilling the Heartland

Built far from India's metros, a legacy player is strengthening manufacturing while developing premium brands to compete in a rapidly expanding alcobev market

- Shruti Tripathi

The safe bet would have been a bustling city. But in 1969, Kailashpati Kedia turned away from metros and put everything in a distillery in Dhar, a quiet Tier-III town in Madhya Pradesh.

“There’s nothing in Madhya Pradesh. Let’s go there and build something,” he had said. It was a move that would shape the future of alcobev company Great Galleon and the legacy that his grandson, Utsav Kedia, now leads.

“At that time, compared to other states, Madhya Pradesh’s ecosystem was not very developed. So, my grandfather’s vision was to go there and shape it. We became the first company in MP to launch our own Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) brand. Before that, everyone was only doing country liquor,” says Kedia.

Kedia, an MBA graduate from Insead, Paris, continues to build on that philosophy as he drives the company’s next phase of growth.

Building a Brand

Great Galleon Ventures (GGVL) began its journey as a distiller and contract supplier of rectified spirit and extra neutral alcohol (ENA), while also offering bottling services to established liquor companies.

Over the years, the company invested significantly in expanding its manufacturing and bottling complex in Dhar. With enhanced capacity and a product portfolio that spanned country liquor, ENA and IMFL, GGVL evolved from a back-end producer into a brand-driven enterprise. It went on to introduce and scale its own range of consumer liquor brands, including Goa, Rascal, V21 among others.

But the legacy extends well beyond commercial milestones. The third generation grew up watching both parents at the helm, modelling a work ethic that shaped their worldview. In a sector traditionally dominated by men, Kedia witnessed his mother set a defining example through her leadership on the factory floor.