Brewbound Awards 2025: Rising Stars - Rupee Beer

Speaker 1 [00:00] Let's meet our next Brewbound rising star. It's Rupee Beer. Joining me now is co-founder Van Sharma. Congratulations, Van.

Speaker 2 [00:08] Hey, Justin, thank you so much. We are beyond the moon. Uh, means a lot.

Speaker 1 [00:12] Well, it's definitely earned and we are so excited. to be able to honor you this year and have you on stage at Brewbound

Speaker 2 [00:19] Live. Very excited to share our insight, our journey, and what that's looked like for us the last 6 years.

Speaker 1 [00:25] Well, it's been quite a journey over those 6 years. Rupee Beer was born out of the pandemic. You're 6 years in, as you said. What's it like building a brand in the on-premise in the post 2020 world?

Speaker 2 [00:41] So many emotions come up. Uh, it's definitely a lot of hard work, I would say in terms of really meeting your customer at the on-premise level and to add even a more complex nuance to that, the Indian on-prem on-premise element, world food category. For us, we're really engaging an audience in a specific category of restaurants that a lot of big. traditionally hasn't gone in for. So for us it's really about understanding what those consumer needs, but also understanding and meeting our customers where they are. And uh yeah, we're from the restaurant business, so for us it really makes a huge difference in understanding the legacy that we come from, from restaurants, but also putting it into modern day practice. And yeah, we continue to build that strategy across the country and invest in Indian restaurants, international restaurants across the United States.

Speaker 1 [01:30] That's something that I love that you told us on the Brewbound podcast earlier this year was, this is the story that you know, restaurants, you grew up in restaurants, you grew up in Indian restaurants more specifically. So, this is something that, that you've lived and I, I love, what I love about the brand is that you found a white space, uh, an area that You saw a hole that needed filled and you're attacking that area and I think that you're doing it very well.

Speaker 2 [02:04] Appreciate that and totally and I think with any business and I've done a few different things before in terms of startups, I feel like any good business always should be solving a problem and during the pandemic, we know that we identified a problem. My co-founder who is also My, my brother, uh, we noticed that Indian beer just wasn't being imported into the United States and even beyond that legacy in years of regular supply of a lot of import brands having, you know, regular month on month access to good fresh quality beer in the US often isn't something. Uh, you see as much. So for us, we really wanted to solve that problem and, um, yeah, I'm a big believer that being at the right place at the right time and during COVID, which is when this whole sort of idea started to brew, um, to where it is now, uh, it's been a journey for sure.

Speaker 1 [02:48] And speaking to that opportunity too, right now, a lot of import brands are challenged and you're providing an opportunity or you're taking advantage of an opportunity too in this moment where As those brands are challenged, you're US produced, so you are able to fill sort of holes that might be out there for the market.

Speaker 2 [03:09] 100% brewing domestically has what often when we were starting off, people were saying no, that's never going to work. It's kind of become our secret sauce I guess and we're very proud to be brewed in the United States. For the 1st 5 years we were in Boston, which is a historic city for us in terms of how gone to university there. So for us, yeah, very much part of the story of rupee being the next wave of Indian inspired beer, world beer with a US element. That's very much part of the story and how the brand has, you know, developed year on year.

Speaker 1 [03:39] One of the things you said to us during the podcast was anywhere global flavor is, spice, those are the places that you hang out in.

Speaker 2 [03:48] 100%, yeah. So what started as wanting to have a beer available for the Indian on-premise, more specifically, um, our parents' network of restaurants, has brewed into something a lot larger. And yes, anywhere there is more complex flavor, right? So, Indian, Asian flavors, Thai, Middle Eastern, Caribbean. Uh, we're so grateful with the help of our distribution networks as well across the country. We're selling into a wide variety of ethnic, multicultural accounts that traditionally a lot of Indian players and other Asian imports have not been able to penetrate. So for us, we look at it as more of a global world brand that has a really unique Indian identity. The name rupee, it's obviously the currency of India, 7 other countries around the world, but historically has also been. The currency of 20 countries around the world, so it has a really global kind of story to it as well, which is why I think it fits extremely well into this kind of category of a rising ethnic multicultural account base, but also where flavor, where spice and those types of things hang out. And very much so also indicative of my brothers and I's interests as well. We love going out for international food, traveling, so it fits right into the kind of area that we want to be in, if that makes sense.

Speaker 1 [05:01] Totally makes sense. Well, since launching it as an on-premise focused brand, you've expanded. You've got chain placements. You're available online. You ship direct. How much of the business is still on-premise versus off at this point?

Speaker 2 [05:19] Yeah, what started as an extremely on-premise heavy business has obviously changed and as also we learned the nuances of the industry and where we should be focusing, we totally understand that the off-premise category is extremely important. It's extremely vital, specifically chains. So as we scale and also launch new markets this year in 2025. We entered Texas as an entire state and also parts of California, so really to meet our customer base, on-premise restaurants will always be our favorite place to hang out with. That's where the brand was built. It was where it gets introduced to new consumers. But to really meet the customer, we have to make sure that we're able to shift from that 60 to 40% kind of percentage split of what we were seeing earlier to really being more heavy on the off-premise category. So yeah, in 2026, going into this quarter as well, some hires that we've also made, really investing in making sure we want to be where our consumer base is grocery shopping, where they're buying their alcohol. So for us we totally understand the importance of that now and are investing in that area quite a bit, um, and yeah, pitching more chains, more chains naturally reaching out to us, which is always an amazing, um, you know, feeling as a, as a, as a startup. Um, you know, founder in beer. So yeah, we're definitely, we understand the importance of playing both sides, but really giving a focus to off-premise.

Speaker 1 [06:37] How much closer are you to that split?

Speaker 2 [06:40] Yeah, I think now we're probably around Um, I think I would say like 60% or so now is going towards the off-premise off-premise category as we scale, as we launch also larger markets. I mentioned we launched Texas this year, we're in California now. Those are obviously beasts of markets to be in. So as we launch more, um, you know, regional but also national markets that we want to grow in and invest in, um, that number will probably continue to go up, and still, you know, in the larger markets we're grateful when it comes to on-premise. The brand really has been introduced in so many verticals. We're in so many Michelin star, James Beard restaurants across the country, New York City, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, etc. So anywhere those types of places continue to, you know, also, uh, invest in new chefs and in the culinary category. We're also doing a lot to stimulate that audience as well.

Speaker 1 [07:34] Rupee Beer recently posted on LinkedIn that you are now the number one Indian IPA in the US. What did it take to get to that point for you?

Speaker 2 [07:45] Yeah, I would say also a lot of education. I don't think people realize, and we're speaking about marketing here at Breebound Live this year as well, there has been a whole lot of marketing knowledge and insights that both my brother and I have had to really invest in to get this brand where it is today. I don't think people understand the, the background of really having to reverse engineer a strategy around teaching more of mainstream America. On pairing beer with international flavors like Indian food as an example, but also, you know, making Indian food look approachable. So for us, IPA, another avenue of education, having to really educate our base on what an IPA actually is, its nuances, how it's brewed differently, whereas a lot of import brands often tend to be just loggers. So for us, yeah, we wanted to build a range of beers. That shows the modern drinker what, what's out there in the in different styles of beers, but also things that are approachable. So yeah, we continue to invest in that strategy and also wanting to be the IPA of choice at international Indian restaurants was really important to us. So now for the first time ever we're seeing that historically, um, your legacy lagers kind of dominated that space.

Speaker 1 [08:53] Is that your fastest growing brand at this point?

Speaker 2 [08:56] It's one of them, I would say. Our lagers continues, our basmati rice lager continues to be our flagship, but definitely we do invest quite a bit in our IPA, um, since we see the potential in it, but also, um, our consumer base also of Indian restaurants and also a lot of Americans that go to Indian restaurants, they want an IPA, right? It's like their, their beer of choice, especially if you're having an Indian meal. So for us, we knew when we Approached that pillar as our second skew that we wanted to do an IPA with. We knew that we had to build a super iconic reverse engineer recipe that told the story of too many Americans that don't know why the name India is even in the beer, but also really brew a beer that's less bitter, less hoppy, that more women would want to drink, perhaps more multicultural audiences would want to drink. Traditionally, you have to realize a lot of these places that often Warmer Caribbean countries, Asian countries, places in Africa, they traditionally only churn out lagers, right, or pilsners, more neutral beers. So we wanted to create an IPA that still had that distinct taste, but also that was more approachable for a more global audience that perhaps traditionally doesn't like bitter or like that flavor profile.

Speaker 1 [10:03] Speaking of opportunities, you recently launched a non-alcoholic beer and I, one of the things that I, I thought was really cool is you posted, uh, on LinkedIn, the pairings that, that the non-out beer goes with, which was essentially everything. I'm not sure that anything was left out.

Speaker 2 [10:26] Yeah, we definitely try to find, um, you know, Indian flavors and foods and menu items that are best sellers across Indian restaurants including our own, but also in terms of just understanding that we knew we wanted to do an NA, um, I'm sure a lot of people here know also, um, Indian Americans continue to dominate the independent liquor trade in the United States. A lot of them often have the last name Patel. They're growing. And they're growing up more and more liquor stores across the United States. One thing to note is often they don't drink, which is really interesting. They own a lot of liquor stores, but a lot of them may perhaps not drink. So for a long time they were also asking us, can you produce something that's an NA? And that's a category we also wanted to play in. So for us, yeah, we brought to market first Indian inspired and in the North American market and much to understanding the nuances of our brand, we wanted to create something light, crushable, easy to drink, super smooth that had a really great affinity with international spicy cuisine, so we went with a lager style. And yeah, we're really excited and that was 2025 has been definitely a year of innovation. Two products that we launched this year, and some more interesting things that we are looking into for 2026 as we look at the data, the insights of what people are looking at, but also what makes sense for an Indian brand.

Speaker 1 [11:41] What have you learned about that segment since you've entered it, because it is so far dominated by very large players.

Speaker 2 [11:50] Totally, yes, I would say that's definitely dominated by some large players. Um, the only nuance I could add is that we're obviously doing something a little bit different for a lot of our core customer on-premise accounts across the United States. They've never offered a non-alcoholic beer or product to their consumers. So for us, it's a really great opportunity to bring a story of a brand that's In to this specific base of of new accounts and also do some education around that as well. But beyond that, we really view and a lot of our drinkers from craft beer festivals that we're at are saying this is such a great palatable beer. I can literally just see it sitting in my fridge, you know, crushing it with some friends. So it's interesting to note how obviously the consumers in the United States are changing, preferences are changing. And uh yeah, we were really excited to, to bring that to market and to make it part of our brand buildout. Um, yeah, we don't want to be a one skew brand. I think for us it was really about understanding. Uh, and offering, um, an East meets Midwest, import meets craft kind of range of products and, and Ruby continues to, to build that out. And we recently just launched something new, just literally last week, a new hard tea, which is, uh, which is also part of our strategy for innovation and things that also I like to drink myself. Um, in Maine, hard teas when I was in high school were really popular as well. Twisted tea in the Northeast, right? So definitely things that make sense. Everything we do has intention behind it, and it has to obviously make sense for the way consumers are, you know, playing with beer and alcohol, but also things that make sense for our, you know, our brand being an Indian inspired label.

Speaker 1 [13:28] Is that primarily an off-premise play for you, the hard tea?

Speaker 2 [13:32] Yeah, so definitely we'll on-premise or off-premise will definitely be a large part of it, but hard tea has never been a category that an Indian restaurant has ever picked up. So for us we're also going to be having to spend a little bit of time to really educate that consumer base. So we're excited the conversations we've had from a wide variety of even owners that have Fast, casual Indian concepts across the United States are saying, I'm going to bring this in to all of my locations in the DMV or in Dallas when it does launch and hit market. So we're really excited to see, um, you know, how that grows and we'll definitely learn a lot once it's in market and, you know, tweak your strategy as we, um, as we grow. I'm very curious,

Speaker 1 [14:13] like how many Indian restaurant accounts are there in this country?

Speaker 2 [14:18] Yeah, so that's a good question. We were just recently looking at some numbers with uh some of our team as well and pulling some stats. There's around 9000 Indian owned uh eateries in the United States. So it's a huge player. From that, not all of them serve alcohol, which is a great opportunity for some of our other Beyond Beer skews that we're working on. But yes, um, you know, a lot of magazines out there, um, and, you know, publications have noted Indian food continues year on year to be one of the fastest. Growing ethnic cuisines in the United States and being, you know, having grown up in the Indian restaurant world my entire life, being the son of restaurateurs in three different countries, um, for us, I totally understand and the momentum that it's built and it's been a long time coming. I think Indian food and the way it's grown continues to show a lot of, um, a lot of potential for not only major US metro cities like New York and LA, but beyond that, um, small town. America, Indian restaurants are popping up all over, and it's becoming more and more approachable. So we want to help educate more people that Indian food is, it's here to stay, it's also approachable. It's also a very vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, you know, friendly as well to so many different types of other folks that have dietary restrictions. So yeah, we're kind of playing at it from a different angle these days, not selling the food, but, you know, catering to beverages that are made to pair with the food.

Speaker 1 [15:38] Well, when you reflect on 2025, what do you count as Rupee's biggest win?

Speaker 2 [15:43] Yeah, that's a good question. So many, we're a fast moving company, being nimble and small, obviously, but in terms of the amount of stuff that we do, our output is very high. So we work diligently every single day to make sure whether it's innovation of new products, wanting to offer and show people a range that we're not just a one skew logger kind of brand, but also, you know, whether it's opening up new national accounts and chains this year, that was a big win entering places like Costco and Walmart. We want to continue obviously doing more. In the off-premise national account side, um, yeah, launching two new SKUs, which is a big thing. And I think also, yeah, coming to Texas and also California, those are markets that we got a lot of requests from over the last, I would say 56 years. So for us, um, those would probably be 3 wins in terms of, um, you know, 2025 and, and, and, you know, what we've done, what we've done to date.

Speaker 1 [16:35] So when we look ahead to next year, what do you see as the biggest opportunity for Rupee?

Speaker 2 [16:40] Yeah, so good question. Every day we're getting, you know, emails from random people in random markets thinking that they can be a distributor saying, I can bring your product to Michigan. I can bring your product to Louisiana, uh, but then also on the contrary, we do get initial inbounds from larger wholesalers and distributors as well. So, um, as we scale, as we grow, the goal is to offer rupee beer state, you know, state by state in all 50 states. That's, that's definitely the, the goal. But the larger macro picture, I mentioned this earlier, Rupee historic. has been the currency of over 20 countries around the world, so the name has clout and notoriety across the world, so we get inbounds from really interesting places around the world. So as we figure out our US, you know, action plan and scaling more here, we definitely are laying the foundations for 2026 and going to some global markets, whether it's the United Kingdom, where as an example, London has more Indian restaurants per square capita than New Delhi and Mumbai combined. Uh, that's a huge opportunity for us. We want to go to the United Kingdom. We lived there for quite some time, parts of Europe, Middle East, India, also, Australia. So we're hoping in 2026, really being able to get the rupee name and the brand introduced to more markets across the world that have large Indian communities, but also communities that for a long time have already embraced Indian food, Indian flavor, which is, which is great. Well,

Speaker 1 [18:01] thank you for doing this, Van. Our team is so excited to be able to honor. You and Summit and Rupee and the whole team there. So congratulations again.

Speaker 2 [18:11] Thank you and as a side note, I think I mentioned this on the podcast a few months ago, we really do read Brewbound everyday, so it's literally our encyclopedia on learning more about the consumer insights, all the things that we didn't know about six years ago, um, and it's like the stock market. So definitely being a business person, it helps you connect the world and understand that there's a lot of thought behind big beer, craft beer that the average consumer never hears about.

Speaker 1 [18:35] Well, we appreciate that too. So thanks again, Dan.