With an aim to deliver a restaurant-like sophisticated cocktail drinking experience in the convenience of a can, anytime anywhere, InACan Cocktails is India's first crafted canned cocktail brand. The company was co-founded by Sameer Mirajkar and Viraj Sawant. Talking about its inception, Mirajkar said, “InACan was created in the middle of lockdown, to fill the cocktail void in the home drinking scene. It took us 8 months of R&D and traveling to get the first range of cocktails out. “

InACan offers a variety of drinks like classic cocktails with an InACan twist, Vodka Mule which is vodka, ginger ale, and lime. Whiskey Collins is made with whiskey, apples, and cinnamon. Rum Latte is a coffee lover's dream with rum coffee, cola, vanilla, and hazelnut. Their classic Gin and Tonic comes with hints of rosemary. For party lovers, the company offers Long Island Iced Tea. The company produces high-quality alcohol distilled specifically for the brand with standardized mixes that provide a consistent taste and have a low-calorie count.

When asked about what inspired the idea of introducing a line of innovative cocktails in cans, Mirajkar shared, “We saw a gap for quality cocktails in the home drinking scenes which is the biggest avenue for alcohol consumption. There was a need for cocktails but because of a lack of expertise to make them at home, ingredients, and glassware, people stayed away from cocktails at home party scenes.” Sawant added, “With InACan we want to change that and deliver a sophisticated restaurant-like cocktail-drinking experience in the convenience of a can.”

Ensuring safety and hygiene

Food safety and hygiene are important parameters that consumers look for in products. Keeping this in mind, Mirajkar explained that InACan maintains all hygiene requirements at its production facility. He added, “Post each production run we do lab tests to check all parameters of the drink for the batch. We do a fit-for-consumption report after each production run. This happens at government-approved testing labs.”

Improvisation and focus on quality-driven products

The InACan team believes in constant R&D and innovation, to improvise and polish its products to stay ahead in the market. Sawant proudly said, “We always emphasize delivering quality-driven products. We have an R&D lab at our facility in Goa and this is headed by Varun Sudhakar who has been at the core of our foundation from the start. Varun is a 2-time Diageo World Class winner from India and a master of his craft. We already have 2-3 new products in the pipeline.”

Mirajkar added that sustainability was one of the reasons to go the can route. The cans used for packaging the products are recyclable, making them eco-friendly.

Aiming to occupy the fridge space of millennials

Targeting the millennials or the people who are just entering the drinking age, Sawant believes that this is a perfect starting drink which until now was a breezer or a cocktail at a bar. He added, “74% of the traffic on our Instagram and website is between the age group of 23 to 37. This is a much wider market as every year you will have a new set of consumers. We also focus on consumers up to the 35-40 age bracket who usually entertain a lot at home and would like to have cocktails at their home parties. InACan would like to take the fridge space in most houses as the go-to cocktail brand.”

According to Mirajkar, consumers across various markets have widely appreciated the InACan cocktails. He said, “The feedback has been amazing and the brand is growing month on month. InACan was also featured in Drinks Magazine Asia as one of the 10 cocktail brands to look out for in Asia.  Numbers wise we will grow 7x as compared to last year.”

Catering to all sorts of flavor profiles

Providing variety in terms of taste is imperative in today’s fast-paced world where purchasing decisions are made in a jiffy. Leaving a good first impression and carving a niche among the vast sea of competitors is non-negotiable. “InACan has always focused on quality-driven products and an innovative range of drinks that cater to all sorts of audiences and flavor profiles. The idea to have a cocktail with all kinds of spirits was to not eliminate any consumer from the offering. I guess this approach makes InACan products different from our competition,” shared Sawant.

The road ahead

Sharing the company’s mission and vision for the future, Mirajkar said, “Our mission is to deliver a quality-forward sophisticated cocktail-drinking experience to our consumers. Our vision is to become India's go-to brand for Ready-To-Drink cocktails.”

Providing insights into the future plans, Sawant confidently shared, “In the next 3 years InACan will be available in most states in India and at least 10 global markets. In the next 5 years, we aim to become the strongest player and the market leader in the Ready-To-Drink cocktail segment. We aim to have a bigger portfolio of cocktails in all categories to appeal to a much wider audience.”

With young consumers gaining access to greater disposable income and a widening range of options, InACan believes it is entering a ripe market for investment.