Brands
Loca Loka tequila makes bold debut in India’s premium market
MUMBAI: Raise a glass, because India has a new spirit to talk about. Loca Loka, the award winning tequila brand born in Mexico and imagined in India, has officially landed in the country’s booming premium spirits market, promising top tier craft with a touch of cultural crossover.
The globally acclaimed label, co-founded by entrepreneur Sree Harsha Vadlamudi, actor Rana Daggubati and composer Anirudh Ravichander, brought its Blanco and Reposado variants to Mumbai this week after a strong international debut across the US and Southeast Asia. The brand’s name blends “Loca”, Spanish for crazy, with “Loka”, Sanskrit for world, capturing its fusion of Mexican heritage and Indian creativity.
Since launch, Loca Loka has picked up medals at major global competitions and earned a loyal following in duty free and export markets. Its India entry marks a strategic shift toward premium bars, restaurants and experience-led retail as urban consumers increasingly seek sophisticated agave based spirits.
The launch celebration lived up to the hype. An invite only tasting saw guests enjoy curated pours that highlighted Blanco’s bright agave notes and Reposado’s mellow oak warmth. The evening expanded into a Delhi dinner and a high energy Mumbai party filled with light, sound and interactive design, echoing the brand’s vibrant spirit.
The tequila arrives with serious credentials. Crafted in the highlands of Jalisco under the expertise of third generation distiller Willy Bañuelos Ramírez, Loca Loka stays true to traditional methods while embracing modern flavour sensibilities. Willy, present at the launch, noted that India’s appetite for craftsmanship and flavour makes it the perfect next chapter for the brand.
The founders offered their own take on the moment. Harsha Vadlamudi called Loca Loka “a business built on craft and clarity”, designed to meet India’s premium shift with thoughtful distribution. Rana Daggubati described the brand as a cultural remix that celebrates both Mexican terroir and India’s rhythm. Anirudh Ravichander added a playful note, revealing that the fermentation process works to music and that this batch rose to his own playlist.
The timing could not be better. India’s tequila market touched USD 600.1 million in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 1.68 billion by 2033. Agave based spirits grew 36 per cent by volume last year, driven by rising disposable incomes and a growing cocktail culture.
Loca Loka will first roll out in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad along with select airport duty free stores. With city activations, tastings and trade partnerships planned through 2026, the brand is positioning itself as a premium, culturally fluent choice for India’s adventurous drinkers.
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Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
