IN HIGH SPIRITS
Kishore Rajaram Chhabria, Chairman of Allied Blenders and Distillers Pvt. Ltd., is one of the most successful and visionary entrepreneurs in the liquor industry. With over 30 years of experience, he currently owns and controls ABD
“Under the leadership of Chhabria, his whisky brand Officer’s Choice has emerged as the largest-selling whisky in the world, ahead of even global spirits”
Kishore Rajaram Chhabria is a self-made man. His struggles and his success both have always kept him in high spirits. This is just a coincidence that he deals in finesh spirits as well!
His success and visionary entrepreneurial endeavours have been legendary in the liquor industry. Chhabria has over 30 years of rich experience in the Indian alcobev industry. Between 1987 and 1992, he was the Managing Director at Shaw Wallace & Co. Ltd., where he transformed the company into a powerhouse in the spirit industry by increasing the market share for its existing brands and adding new brands to its portfolio. During this period, Chhabria also served as Director or Advisor in various major companies such as Dunlop India Ltd., Mather & Platt Ltd., Hindustan Dorr Oliver Ltd., Gordon Woodroffe Ltd., etc.
Prior to joining Shaw Wallace, Chhabria lived and worked in Dubai and London. Then, from April 1992, Chhabria was the Chairman of BDA Ltd. – the liquor business of this company was de-merged into ABD during Between 1995 and 2005, he also served as the Executive Vice Chairman of Herbertsons Ltd., a leading liquor company that has since been merged with United Spirits Limited.
Today, his company, Allied Blenders and Distillers is India’s largest domestic spirits company with a robust portfolio of brands catering to different consumer segments. Under his stewardship, ABD has consistently been the fastest-growing spirits company in India over the past few years.
Its flagship brand, Officer’s Choice, is the largest-selling whisky brand in the world with sales of over 23 million cases (FY ’15). Officer’s Choice Blue, a premium variant, in less than 3 years of national launch, has sold over 7 million cases (FY ‘15), a feat achieved by no other spirits brand till date.
Other brands in Chhabria’s portfolio include Officer’s Choice Black, Jolly Roger Rum, Kyron Premium Brandy, Lord and Master Brandy and Class 21 Vodka.
Through the creation his Officer’s Choice brand, Chhabria desired to unite affordability with class. He wanted consumers to have a feel of a high-status product at low and affordable prices. However, initial success never guarantees a successful business. Chhabria really worked hard to make Officer’s Choice a huge brand. In between, he had some fallouts but he retained the brand. Not to accept defeat easily, Chabbaria is thus a very successful entrepreneur and envisions to make his company the most admired spirits company in the world. He also desires to earnestly work for business sustainability and talent sustainability and make ABD future-ready. He has been voted as Entrepreneur of the Year in the Alcobev industry at Indspirit Awards 2015.
