Debashish Shyam in Calcutta on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta, Sept. 8: The Shaw Wallace brands under the UB group have clocked a growth of 19 per cent in the east in the first five months of this fiscal compared with the industry growth of 13 per cent in the region. The Shaw Wallace brands include Royal Challenge, Director’s Special, White Mischief and Antiquity.

“The brands have been doing quite well across segments after the takeover and contributes to almost 25 per cent of the UB group’s spirits division’s turnover from the eastern region. The market in the east has remained bullish and we have clocked 18 per cent higher growth in the first five months than that in the same period last year,” said Debashish Shyam, assistant vice-president, marketing, UB group spirits division.

The eastern region contributes to 20 per cent to the company’s national turnover.

The company sells around nine lakh cases per month in the east. Around 1.4 lakh cases per month are sold in Bengal.

The UB group has also increased its market share from 57 to 60 per cent in the indian made foreign liquor category.

The spirits division, which has grown by over 80 per cent in the last five years and five times by volume during the same period, sold 60 million cases last year and has grown by over 20 per cent in the first five months of the current year.

“We have 13 manufacturing and bottling units in the region, of which three are in Bengal and have sufficient capacity to cater to the growing market,” said Arvind Jain, divisional vice-president (sales), eastern region.

UB is forming a 30-member national team to cater to premium brand promotion activities at lounges, pubs and clubs.

The company also launched the world’s first diet whisky — McDowell’s DietMate — with a US patented technology using garcinia cambojia, the Indian herb kokum.