Beverages
How AB InBev India is Driving Growth Through Digital Transformation
In this episode of Masters of Change, Jishnu Gandhi, Associate Director of Digital Transformation and Analytics at AB InBev India, shares how the company is rethinking its route-to-market in a complex and regulated category. From building a premium portfolio to expanding into Beyond Beer, he talks about the role of data, on-ground execution, and the importance of getting digital transformation right at scale in India.
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1. AB InBev’s Journey in India
Tell us how AB InBev entered India and how that journey has evolved.
Jishnu Gandhi: As for our journey, I would describe it as one of resilience. We formally expanded into India around 2016–17, with a strong focus on building a premium portfolio.
A recent milestone we are proud of is that India has become the fourth-largest market for Budweiser globally. It is an exciting market for us, and we are just getting started.
2. The "Beyond Beer" Strategy
As Budweiser continues to grow, how did the shift towards the “Beyond Beer” strategy come about?
Jishnu Gandhi: It has been an interesting evolution. As a company, we rely heavily on technology to stay close to changing consumer preferences.
India, with its young demographic, is well suited for expanding beyond traditional beer. Today, our portfolio includes Budweiser 0.0, Budweiser Magnum Double Barrel Whiskey, and Budweiser Beats, which we launched in 2021.
This shift is driven by consumer demand. India is largely a spirits-led market, influenced by factors like taxation and taste preferences.
We are also leveraging other brands in our portfolio. For example, Hoegaarden is helping us enter the white spirits category, while Seven Rivers has expanded into rum. Through our partnership with Slab Ventures, we have also entered the vodka segment with D’YAVOL.
3. Digital Enablement and Route to Market
With such a diverse portfolio, distribution becomes critical. How important is digital enablement in managing your route to market?
Jishnu Gandhi: It is absolutely central. The route to market in alco-beverages is far more complex than in most CPG categories.
In India, regulations vary significantly across states and are governed by both central and state laws. Even though the number of retail outlets may be limited, the way you reach them differs widely.
When we partnered with Bizom, one of our first priorities was building state-specific strategies. We needed clarity on outlet coverage, location data, and sales potential.
As we expanded into the Beyond Beer and non-alcoholic segments, Bizom’s industry-wide data and insights became even more valuable. It helped us make better decisions around outlet productivity and field execution, making the system far more efficient.
4. Partnering with Bizom
How did you decide to partner with Bizom, and what has that journey been like?
Jishnu Gandhi: This goes back to 2021. We were already using a sales force automation tool, but we needed something more aligned to Indian market realities.
We evaluated around 9 to 10 partners over a few months. The decision came down to three key factors:
- Stability: We wanted a long-term partner.
- Capabilities: Both current and future readiness, including advanced features like route optimisation and DMS integration.
- Industry Understanding: Bizom stood out because of its deep understanding of the CPG ecosystem.
We also ran a pilot for a few months, during which we made 20 to 30 product-level changes based on field feedback. That phase was crucial in validating the partnership.
5. Challenges and Product Solutions
Every transformation comes with its challenges. What were some key hurdles, and how did you address them?
Jishnu Gandhi: There are always trade-offs between data collection and field efficiency.
For instance, the Bizom UI is intentionally simple, which works well even in remote areas. However, when you try to capture too much data, it can slow down field teams.
We worked closely with the product team to address this. One example was reducing excessive scrolling in the app by introducing a copy-paste feature. This allowed sales reps to reuse data from previous visits where applicable, saving several minutes per outlet.
These small improvements made a significant difference at scale.
6. Change Management and Adoption
What advice would you give to organisations undergoing digital transformation?
Jishnu Gandhi: Change management is the most critical piece.
We ensured that all stakeholders were involved from the beginning, including sales teams, route-to-market specialists, and technology teams. This avoided resistance later.
Two things worked particularly well for us:
- Pilot with Champions: We identified key users who helped shape the product and later drove adoption.
- Familiarity: Many team members had prior experience with Bizom, which made onboarding easier.
We are now extending this to distributors as well, especially in our non-alcoholic business, where their participation is key to unlocking deeper insights.
7. The Future Roadmap
Looking ahead, what does the next phase of your digital journey look like?
Jishnu Gandhi: The real value comes when systems start working together seamlessly.
One area we are focusing on is outlet visibility, especially something we call Chiller Purity. There is a simple belief in our category: what is cold gets sold.
We are working on solutions where a salesperson can capture an image, and the system can instantly analyse product presence and purity levels.
The goal is to integrate such capabilities smoothly within existing workflows as we continue expanding our distributor management systems and other technologies.