Rohan Rehani and Nitin Vishwas talks about Mead: Moonshine Meadery, Asia’s first meadery

Mead is the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man and is made by fermenting honey using water and yeast. While documented evidence goes back to 7000 BC, historians believe it to be 25,000 years old, predating agriculture. It is neither a beer nor a wine but an independent category by itself. There are many styles of mead – some whose flavour profile is defined by the honey (usually called Traditional Mead, the closest you can get to historic meads of old), others with the addition of fruits and spices. They can be sweet, dry or semi-dry and carbonated or still. Mead is making a global comeback and is the fastest growing craft beverage in the world today. It has found mention in various ancient cultures like the Vikings, Chinese, Greek, and even our own – ancient Indian texts mention meads frequently and the name itself derives from madh, Sanskrit for honey. It is usually associated with Vikings, but has also been referenced in Shakespearean literature and more recently in popular culture including Harry Potter, Games of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Rohan Rehani and Nitin Vishwas During his time at McKinsey and Company, co-founder Nitin Vishwas was travelling to Europe and came across an article in an in-flight magazine about meads. He took some pictures of the article and sent them to the other co-founder Rohan Rehani, both mechanical engineers and friends for over 30 years. This is where it all started. “Without any reference point of what mead actually tasted like, the first mead that we ever had was our own!” Rohan said. After a few batches, Nitin’s wife brought back a few bottles of mead from the US and they realized that they were not too far off from those examples. Having fallen down the proverbial rabbit hole, Rohan eventually did a special bee-keeping course from the Central Bee Research Institute in Pune and also interned at Colony Meadery in Pennsylvania, USA. This helped with their understanding of the latest mead making techniques innovated in America. All of it helped in the founding of Moonshine Meadery, which when incorporated, became Asia’s first meadery. It continues to be India’s only meadery until the present day. Can you share with us the details of what kind of mead is offered here and the process involved, including the ingredients? Rohan and Nitin: Today, the Apple Cyder Mead and the Coffee Mead are our two flagship styles that are sold in restaurants and retail across Pune and Mumbai. These make use of apple juice procured from Kashmir and coffee (that is cold steeped into the mead) from Chikmagalur, Karnataka respectively. Joining these is the Traditional Mead, made from water, yeast and unique single source honey (currently made solely from honey that the bees create using nectar from the flowers of the Ajwain plant). Within meads, however, styles and flavours are limitless and only constrained by one’s imagination. The diversity of nature is reflected in the versatility of meads. We channel this through our experimental side in the form of our Mead Lab creations – some examples of which are the Guava Chilli Mead, a Jamun Mead, a Smoked Mead, a Kaffir Lime & Vanilla Mead and a Bourbon Oaked Apple Mead.  Moonshine’s meads are 100% natural and gluten free, with no added sugar or artificial flavour, colour or aroma. We pride ourselves on being a meadery that uses only the finest ingredients and works with local honey producers and farmers. The procurement of honey in a sustainable manner provides agricultural benefit and better crop yield. By sourcing locally produced honey, we encourage apiculture in the country from the grass-root level upwards – and in turn, the conservation of the bees that make it. Can you tell us the responses you have got as yet? Rohan and Nitin: The love and feedback that people have responded with have made us very happy. People don’t just enjoy it as a new product in the market, but evaluate it for what it is and frequently come back for more. One of the earliest indicators of this was when our meads were launched and started selling out at the first few stores; customers took photos of empty shelves and sent it to us on social media, requesting us to restock as soon as we could. This was even before the stores themselves could formally place an order! People look at us as an approachable company and that level of engagement has been maintained over the last 6 months. Our motive is to interact with our audience as we would want a brand to interact with us. Whenever you message us on social media, it is a Moonshiner from our own team that responds. We also understand that while Mead is a 9000-year-old tipple, it is still a brand new product in modern India and we’re reaching out to an audience that may have a preconceived perception of a honey-based product being overly sweet. We thus try to educate our retailers and our consumers about mead, bust some myths and urge them to not miss an opportunity to try something new. Both of you have an interesting career graph. How do you make sure you are a perfect balance for each other? Rohan and Nitin: “I went from mechanical engineering to doing his MBA at ISB Hyderabad and then working for organisations such as Accenture, Larsen & Toubro, Feedback Ventures, McKinsey & Company and Abbott Pharmaceuticals”, Nitin informed. Rohan informed of completing his engineering and handling various roles from Monster India Pvt. Ltd. to running multiple manufacturing plants in Gujarat to being a partner at a boutique firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions for SMEs in India. Over a period of 14 years, we both gained experience that was valuable when we started Moonshine. The fact that we’ve been friends for so long makes it comfortable for us to be in sync when we’re working in tandem. However, our candor and direct approach are also reflected in the way that everyone in our team communicates. We follow a flat organizational structure with no CxO positions or traditional designations. Moonshine’s success will always be a team effort and that thought is visible in every one of us Moonshiners! Where all have you reached and where all do you plan to spread? Rohan and Nitin: The growth till now has been fantastic. Moonshine meads are currently available at close to 250 retail stores and restaurants across Pune and Mumbai in about 6 months. We are currently expediting our projected growth and adding production capacity on a month on month basis. This will help us to meet our targets for the financial year-end in numbers, distribution, and geography by the end of October itself. While continuing to establish ourselves in Maharashtra, we will be available next in Goa soon. From there we plan to expand to a third state by the end of the current financial year and onward to most metros in India after that. Are there any plans to compete on an international level? Rohan and Nitin: Wouldn’t it be great for the world to see Indian meads again after thousands of years! There have been some conversations to that effect. We’re definitely looking at securing an international presence of meadery in one of the APAC regions on the back of this interest that we have generated. For such interesting information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download the magazine Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.