I'm a beverage consultant for early-stage drink and CPG brands. I've taken drinks from a kitchen experiment to a working factory, and I help founders make that journey with fewer expensive surprises.
Category and competitor scan, price-ladder mapping, channel and consumer research, and a diagnostic of the product and operational gaps in the brand today.
Who the drink is for, what the brand stands for, where it sits on shelf and on price, and how the range is built around that.
Flavour architecture, formulation and trials, vendor sourcing, packaging specifications and a costed recipe for every SKU.
Cost modelling, line set-up, quality systems, food safety and regulatory readiness, supply chain and a launch plan.
Most brands start with the first stages and carry on only if it makes sense. You can also hire me for a single stage on its own.
Founders and brand teams making a drink, at any stage from a first idea to scaling up, who want decisions backed by numbers.
Stages 01 and 02: research and positioning. Suited to a brand that has a product, or a serious idea, and wants a clear read on the market and its own gaps before spending more.
All four stages, from research to production. Suited to founders building a first range, or a new category for an existing brand, who want one person across the whole journey.
Product or production on its own, for example costing every SKU, formulating a flavour, or getting a line and quality systems ready. Suited to brands that already know their position and are stuck on making it.
It starts with a short call about your brand: where it is today and what is stuck. After that I tell you in writing which route fits and what it would cover, so you can decide with the details in front of you.
At Foxtrot Beverages I set up the manufacturing facility and led new products, including co-branded launches with leading global brands. After that came formulation and flavour architecture work with Third Eye Distillery and Hygge Brew, and now independent work with beverage and CPG brands.
Svami is the Mumbai drinks brand of Foxtrot Beverages, founded in 2016 as a response to the gin revival. It makes all-natural premium mixers, including tonic waters, ginger ale and sodas, with low-sugar versions among the first in Asia, and it does the recipes, brewing and bottling in-house.
The range has since grown into non-alcoholic ready-to-drink cocktails and co-branded launches, including mixers with Moët Hennessy India and a cucumber Kölsch with Bira 91.
It is where I built the factory and led new products. Everything I now bring to other brands was tested there first.
A limited-edition Pandan tonic made with Gondhoraj lime, created with the Singapore Tourism Board for its ‘Taste Obsession’ series and inspired by Svami co-founder Aneesh Bhasin’s trip through Singapore’s cocktail scene.
Read the story ↗A limited-edition non-alcoholic Vanilla Cola inspired by the 90s cola float, made with Mumbai sneaker and streetwear store Superkicks. It sold at Superkicks stores in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore, on Svami's site and on Amazon.
Read the story ↗A 6% ABV kölsch brewed at Bira 91's Limited Release Taproom in Bangalore, built around cucumber, the most unusual flavour in Svami's tonic range.
Read the story ↗Three limited-edition non-alcoholic mixers made exclusively for Belvedere, Glenmorangie and Hennessy, built on Indian flavours such as pomelo, tangerine, ginger and cinnamon, to make cocktails at home.
Read the story ↗A sugar-free 2 Cal Cola and a low-sugar Salted Lemonade, both priced at ₹65, aimed at taking Svami into non-metro markets and everyday occasions.
Read the story ↗A range of alcohol-free ready-to-drink serves for people who want the complexity of a good drink without the booze: a low-calorie Rum & Coke flavoured with vanilla, caramel and cinnamon, a botanical Gin & Tonic, and a strawberry Pink Gin & Tonic.
Read the story ↗After Svami came two very different categories: spirits at a craft distillery in Goa, and kombucha at a brand in Pune.
“I had the pleasure of working with Manish previously, and what always stood out was his broad understanding of beverage development and product market fit.
He has strong technical knowledge across formulation, ingredients and production, but he also understands that none of that matters if the final product does not connect with the consumer or make commercial sense. He thinks beyond the liquid itself, taking into account costing, labelling, production practicality, consistency and how a product will ultimately sit in the market.
His attention to detail is excellent, and he has a very good instinct for identifying the small technical or practical issues that can become much bigger problems later.
That ability to understand both the product and the commercial realities around it is what makes Manish particularly good at what he does.”
Alongside this independent work, I consult at wedothings, a business consultancy and creative studio for strategy, brand systems and brand marketing. It is a separate practice from this one. I bring my business operations and product experience to the projects I take on there, and I keep a check on the studio’s internal systems.
I'm an independent growth partner for OMN9, a clean-label mung bean protein isolate (80% protein) made from climate-resilient, water-efficient, soil-restoring crops. I work with formulators and R&D teams across India on ingredient evaluation, formulation trials and scale-up. If you're building a protein drink, a plant-based food or another product that needs a plant protein, I can get you samples and see it through to a commercial order. And if it isn't the right protein for your product, I'll tell you that too.
Cin cin.