The Wild World Of Loca Loka; Curated by Rana Daggubati, Anirudh Ravichander and Harsha Vadlamudi Who knew an actor, musician and seasoned entrepreneur would be the trifecta we were missing- out on? Along with south Indian singer Anirudh Ravichander and Sree Harsha Vadlamudi, the proprietor of Ironhill India microbrewery, actor Rana Daggubati has launched a new tequila.
By Kavya Pillai
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Who knew an actor, musician and seasoned entrepreneur would be the trifecta we were missing- out on? Along with south Indian singer Anirudh Ravichander and Sree Harsha Vadlamudi, the proprietor of Ironhill India microbrewery, actor Rana Daggubati has launched a new tequila. A total of $10 million has been invested by the three in Ironhill Hospitality Pvt Ltd. 100% of the agave used to make the tequila, Loca Loka, is cultivated in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
In our conversation with the men behind Loca Loka, we commenced the dialogue by enquiring about the thought behind the brand. "So the name stands for a crazy world. The idea is a celebration since We've always been fans of cross-cultural things, whether it's Harsha, myself or Anirudh. Harsha in Hyderabad runs one of the best FNB restaurants, and brewing places in the city. So he's someone that understands data and culture very well. Anirudh and I come from storytelling. One comes from music, one comes from performance and script. But life has always been about crossing borders. I started off making films in Hyderabad. We made Telugu films, we made Hindi films. And now films that cross over and go to the rest of the world. And the idea of creating something beyond stories," shared Daggubati.
Vadlamudi added, "We'll soon be in New York and New Jersey, and we are doing a beautiful launch tour in August in America. A week-long tour where Rana and Anirudh would be flying down for the launch week. It's not a week-long but really a month-long celebration."
We wanted to know how this trio planned on tackling the market which has seen so many collaborations with celebrities in the alcohol space already. Daggubati shared, "Collaborations are happening across sectors in fashion, electronics and more." " However we did not have any apprehensions about introducing our tequila because one, I don't see any other tequila brand that's creating fusion between cultures and I think that's very definitive and new."
He further shared "Since you're the entrepreneur's magazine so we can speak this. We come from a slightly old-school ethics of business. We're not entrepreneurs that are serial and sell things out very quickly. Instead, we work towards building a legacy, we like to build scale, and we like to see this through really as a global brand. I'm close to 40 years old but I'm now running companies that are over 60 or 70 years old. So I think. I think legacy means a lot to us. The fact that we can leave a mark and create a sense of community with the brand I think is something very unique."
As for the behind-the-scenes of finalising the taste and all elements of the tequila. Vadlamudi made Daggubati share one of the shenanigans these owners pulled on his birthday. " On my birthday, we tested the drink in the afternoon on people and then a different set of people were tested at night." So we were able to gauge how a consumer would react to our product.
Vadlamudi is the owner of twelve breweries in the nation operating under the Ironhill India brand. The corporation is placing a wager that for the next ten years, tequila's appeal in India will increase. He stated that the company has already invested about $5 million in production and white labelling, with the remaining funds going toward expansion and distribution until it earns a profit in two years. When the brand enters India in the upcoming phase, more funding will be needed.
We concluded our conversation by asking about their unconventional pairing with Loca Loka, in terms of a book, movie and song. Vadlamudi and Daggubati unanimously agreed the song had to be "any of Annirudh's music." Indirectly ruled out all of Rana's cinematic projects by saying, "Nothing that's sad, dark, or anything in that genre." "No one does fun stuff with me no more," he added. And for the book they shared this cross-border tequila can be paired with a new book for every time and vibe of the day.
