Aakash Khaunte launches an avant-garde brand of tonic water to cash in on the Gin-o-Mania
Graduated from MIT Pune, went on to join the family business, started automobile dealerships, and is currently taking over the tonic water market – Aakash Khaunte is nothing short of a go-getter. His latest venture, ‘Vaum,’ aims to fill in the botanical gap within the tonic water industry. He talks about the choices and challenges that he has faced and learned in the process of launching Vaum.
Lingering onto the idea of investing in the botanical and Indian tonic water segment, Aakash found his moment to shine. “There is a nice space in this industry. A lot of Indian gin brands are being launched, and some of the finest ones are actually made in Goa,” he says. This, along with an increased interest in Gin and Tonic within millennials, investing into the segment has never seen a more opportune time.
Aakash took a flight to Brighton, UK, to meet with mixologists trying out almost 2000 flavours to narrow it down to the first seven. Each of these exotic recipes comes from France, Ireland, and other different European countries.
There is a nice space in this industry. A lot of Indian gin brands are being launched, and some of the finest ones are actually made in Goa. I want VAUM to become a global name in the industry. AAKASH KHAUNTE
While people usually pair one fruit, Vaum, a trendsetter in its time, brings in the pairing of two botanicals to add elegance and mystery into our drink. Currently established within the Goan and Bangalore market and moving into Mumbai and Delhi, Aakash tells us about his visions for Vaum, “I want it to become a global name in the industry”. With their in-house recipes and contract manufacturing, units can be set up across the globe, all in good time. Quinine is an essential part of tonic water. Still, some people do not enjoy its bitterness or are allergic; Vaum also caters to them with their botanical-based mixers like grapefruit, elderflower and rosemary, cucumber mint, and their hot selling, mango fig. As they network and open up to different markets, all the feedback will help understand the palette of their consumers, allowing them to add more flavours to their inventory.
The process of finding his first seven flavours was a bit of a trial and error method, along with a lot of research and the use of prior experience and knowledge. “The fundamental flavours are cucumber, grapefruit and elderflower, we wanted to pair them with different botanicals to complement not just one gin but with other types of spirits,” says Aakash.
A lot of research was done by talking to bar mixologists and professional mixologists who create different flavours for different brands. There were also a lot of open minded discussions about the different flavours, which led to the choosing of the starting seven.
The tonic water industry is a very new and competitive sector; the products have a very limited shelf life. As far as new learnings go, Aakash’s new venture taught him about being more detail oriented, especially when it comes to a product whose recall value can create a big impact. He went through many logos before finding the one that matches the brand’s ideologies, spirit, and soul. Besides being a catchy word, ‘Vaum’ describes the vibration of water. With all the products being carbonated, “Vaum sounded so perfect for the brand,” says Aakash.
When asked about the biggest challenge faced, Aakash opens up about how his latest venture is very different and far from a traditional business. It is a very competitive fresh space. According to him, market research was the biggest challenge, “When you take opinions, you get plenty of them; but you don’t get any advice,” building upon these opinions was something he stuck by. Logistics and distribution channels were specified upon, but nothing is difficult, as we get more experience.
While concluding with his plans for the future of the brand, Aakash is determined on establishing Vaum within major Indian metro cities by the second half of this year and if the pandemic cooperates, internationally by the second half of next year
