Mead Maker Ronin Wines Raises Funds To Enter The High ABV Segment

Ronin Wines, which manufactures alcoholic beverage Moonshine, has raised around $2 Mn in its ongoing Pre-Series A round led by Anthill Capital.

Auxano Capital, Supermorpheus, Merisis and existing, as well as new angel investors, also have participated in the funding round. 

Ronin Wines will use the funds to expand its product–Moonshine Meadery in existing markets including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and Silvassa. Besides, it will deploy funds to enter into new markets including Haryana and West Bengal and also, export its product to international markets. 

“Meads are an exciting, fast-growing Alco-Bev category. Ronin has created an eclectic mead brand that is already seeing excellent market traction from discerning consumers looking for new tastes and flavours. Anthill Ventures is delighted to be an anchor partner in Ronin’s journey,” said Prasad Vanga, partner, Anthill Ventures. 

Set up in 2016 by Rohan Rehani and Nitin Vishwas, Pune-based Ronin Wines manufactures homegrown meads. To produce its sub-brand Moonshine Meadery, the startup uses a slew of ingredients including multifloral honey,  orange blossom honey, coffee beans, guavas, apples, chillies and kaffir lime, according to the statement. 

“With Moonshine, we are trying to plug the flavour gap for consumers as they transition from juices and colas to beers and spirits. After winning at IWSC, we have been garnering interest from importers across the globe. The current fund raise will enable us to  unlock opportunities not only at the national but also at the international level,” said Rohan Rehani, cofounder of Ronin Wines.

Ronin Wines said that it launched a strong mead Portside in 2021 and is looking at venturing into the high ABV (alcohol by volume) still-meads segment later this year (2022).

According to the statement, most Indian meads have low alcohol by volume (ABV) and are carbonated. In addition, they often face competition with the premium beer and RTD segments that are valued at around $5 Bn in 2020. 

In the mead beverages segment, which is a sub-sector of the alcohol industry, Ronin Wines faces competition from Cerana Meads, Portside Mead and Arka Rose, among others.

According to a report, the global mead beverages industry, which was pegged at $432.4 Mn in 2020, is likely to become a $1,621 Mn market by 2028. The industry will expand at a CAGR of 18.71% during 2021-2028.

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