LAL TOOFAN RED STORM PREMIUM BEER PINT GLASS

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When this point is made, he is flattered and honoured. It seems that being recognised for the journey he’s been on isn’t high on Walawalkar’s list of priorities. “Being forgotten is only a part of life,” he said. As the dust settles on forgotten chapters of his life he cannot help but think of a quote from of revered writer and philosopher Khalil Gibran. Thus a new company called United Breweries International UK was launched at a gala event in the Dorchester in 1982 and Wally was appointed to head up the operation as Vice President. So began his mission to introduce “Indian beer to the ethnic niche market”. Curiously though”, he added, “a majority of the so-called ‘Indian restaurants’ that were in the popular hub of the British public dining-out experience were actually Bangladeshi.” Wally, who is half- Maharashtrian and half- Bengali, explained that he identifies strongly with his Bengali heritage, stemming from his mum’s side of the family. Though born in Jaipur, he completed his schooling and college in Calcutta, and was principally brought up by his Bengali maternal grandparents.

Thus began the last chapter of his marketing career – the launch of both “Lal Toofan,” aimed at the traditional Indian restaurant sector of the market, and his crowning glory “Bangla,” aimed at the larger Bangladeshi sector with more than 6,000 restaurants. He thus aimed to bifurcate the ‘niche Indian restaurant market’. Kingfisher and Cobra are faring exceedingly well in UK restaurants, as well as bars and main supermarkets. As Indian food features high on the TV dinner list, it makes good sense to place an Indian beer or two in that trolley. Upcoming Brands I’m currently the Chairman of CAPE, an association of carers and parents of persons with learning disability in Enfield, and I am also on the Learning Disability Partnership board for Enfield Local Authority.This ultimately led him to start a joint venture for United Breweries with a Kent-based brewery called Shepherd Neame. This was the first joint venture of its kind to brew Kingfisher under license anywhere in the world. The solution worked like a charm, because it could now be supplied in draught and bottled form. This was the first time Kingfisher lager was available in draught, and the 1980s saw Indian beer- produced in the UK- finding a place on the menus of most Indian restaurants and with taps sitting instead of or next to Carlsberg.

After four years in this job, Wally felt the scope for marketing in its true sense was quite limited in the manufacturing sector. It was then that he decided to move to the retail consumer market. He said: “I wanted to do something that had a connection with people. Consumer marketing seemed to appeal to me greatly and was closer to what I had studied for.” Islands - Postcode Locations IM, JE, GY, BT, BT1, BT10, BT11, BT12, BT13, BT14, BT15, BT16, BT17, BT18, BT19, BT2, BT20, BT21, BT22, BT23, BT24, BT25, BT26, BT27, BT28, BT29, BT29, BT3, BT30, BT31, BT32, BT33, BT34, BT35, BT36, BT37, BT38, BT39, BT4, BT40, BT41, BT42, BT43, BT44, BT45, BT46, BT47, BT48, BT49, BT5, BT51, BT52, BT53, BT54, BT55, BT56, BT57, BT58, BT6, BT60, BT61, BT62, BT63, BT64, BT65, BT66, BT67, BT68, BT69, BT7, BT7, BT70, BT71, BT74, BT75, BT76, BT77, BT78, BT79, BT8, BT80, BT81, BT82, BT9, BT92, BT93, BT94, TR21, TR22, TR23, TR24, TR25, IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV51, IV55, IV56, HS, KA27, KA28, KW15, KW16, KW17, PA20, PA41, PA42, PA43, PA44, PA45, PA46, PA47, PA48, PA49, PA60, PA61, PA62, PA63, PA64, PA65, PA66, PA67, PA68, PA69, PA70, PA71, PA72, PA73, PA74, PA75, PA76, PA77, PA78, PH42, PH43, PH44, ZE

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Eloquent, organised and engaging. These are the words which best describe Surojit Walawalkar, who considers his 11 years with United Breweries Group to be the “pinnacle” of his long career in marketing. As he tells CurryLife his story, successes and failures included, it is clear that every single moment of his career and life has been a dream. It is a story to which young, budding marketeers would do well to listen to and learn from. Mr Walawalkar – or Wally, as he likes to call himself – is the true definition of a role model. I found it to be an impossible task,” he said. “When people, restaurant owners and customers alike, heard the drinks were imported from India, there was instant hesitation. The perception of poor hygiene standards, especially the quality of water in a developing country like India was brought into question.” Cobra was established in London in the late 1980s. Since then it has expanded its range from the original 5% ABV lager to include fruity, light and super premium 8% products, along with a non-alcoholic brew.

All the aforementioned beers are robust, cold and palate cleansing. They all make for a fine drink. Despite the fact that Indian restaurants were growing in popularity during the time, the drinks sold in the restaurant market remained dominated by the likes of Dortmunder and Carlsberg. A full-scale marketing project for introducing Kingfisher beer to the niche Indian restaurants was needed. Throughout the decade, Kingfisher, brewed under license in the UK, mainly dominated the market. Then, as the 80s came to a close, a new bottled brand imported from India called Cobra Beer was launched in by Karan Bilimoria CBE – with the claim of being ‘authentically Indian’ and being less ‘gassy’ – it established a growing share of the market.Soon enough, Cobra followed the inevitable steps of being brewed in the EU under license and, by introducing a draught version, the market for Indian beers in the 90s became bigger and fiercely competitive. This is where Surojit Walawalkar’s marketing ingenuity came into play.

He said: “I thought that the role of Bangladesh had to be recognised in some way by the consuming public and from a marketing point of view. I wondered: ‘why not have a brand of beer that echoes a connection between the country where the owners, managers, chefs and waiters come from?’” His journey begins in 1961 when, following his BSc in St Xavier’s College in Calcutta, he studied a postgraduate diploma in Business Studies at the Scottish College of Commerce in Glasgow, winning the Turnbull prize as student of the Year. He then completed a three-year graduate apprenticeship in Wolverhampton engineering firm Joseph Sankey and Sons Ltd (GKN), before returning to India as Product Sales Manager at GKN’s subsidiary in Mumbai, Guest Keen Williams Ltd. Wally left United Breweries Group in 1992 to become Managing Director of their Shaw Wallace Overseas Ltd. Using the tried and tested formula of joint venture brewing, he started a new joint venture between Shaw Wallace Overseas Ltd and Ushers of Trowbridge called Ushers Shaw Wallace (USW Ltd). It was under this company that he in 1993 launched Lal Toofan and Bangla three years later. It was not until the late 70s that Wally stepped into the beer market; the field that would become his “claim to fame”. United Breweries of India at this time felt it was a good opportunity for them to set up their own branch in UK marketing a range of their products particularly their flagship product Kingfisher beer, he said. While their agents BE International were importers and distributors of food and drinks predominantly from China and India, they were not brand developers.

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Alongside his work as a marketing consultant, Wally has extended his work experience to volunteering for charitable organisations over the last 14 years.