Sula Vineyards' marketing expenses surge by 177.7% to Rs 20.75 crore in FY25

Sula Vineyard has increased its selling, distribution, and marketing expenses by 34.6% in the fiscal year 2025 amid the slowdown in urban consumption, and multiple temporary regulatory and market disruptions.

"FY25 was a year of reset, as the industry growth saw a temporary pause given the impact from the urban consumption slowdown and the temporary market disruptions we saw through the year in the form of the national elections, multiple state elections especially in our largest state of Maharashtra in Q3, and other short-term regulatory / policy disruptions in some states such as Karnataka, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh which also hurt industry demand albeit temporarily in FY25," said Rajeev Samant, MD and CEO of Sula Vineyard.

The maker of brands like Rasa, Dindori, and The Source wines, spent a total of Rs 91.07 crore on sales, promotion, and marketing in FY2025 compared to Rs 67.64 crore in the year-ago period. The company's sales and promotion expenses stood at Rs 60.39 crore in FY25 while the marketing expenses climbed by 177.7% to Rs 20.75 crore in the same period. Sula spent Rs 7.47 crore on marketing in the year-ago period.

The wine producer made a splash in FY25 with notable marketing initiatives, including the revival of the 'SulaFest' after a gap of five years and a partnership with IndiGo to offer premium canned wines to travelers on international flights. Besides, the Nashik-based company conducted 77,887 tastings across 51 cities in FY25 to strengthen consumer engagement and improve brand visibility across key touchpoints.

In the past four years, the company's Own Brand sales have grown at 17% CAGR. The share of Own Brands increased to 88% in FY25 from 69% in FY21, while the revenue increased to Rs 546.2 crore in FY25 compared to Rs 534.2 crore in FY24.

In FY25, Sula's wine tourism revenue grew by 10.2% year-on-year to Rs 60.3 crore, driven by SulaFest, coupled with resort performance. The wine-making company said that its resort occupancy improved by from 74% in FY24 to 78% in FY25 on the back of a strong festive and wedding season in FY25.

"Our Wine Tourism business continued to grow from strength to strength in FY25 recording another year of solid double-digit growth. Over the last 4 years (FY21-FY25), our wine tourism business has grown rapidly at 35% CAGR," Samant added.

Sula, which offers more than 50 brands of wines across different price points and varietals, will be focusing on its expansion strategy in the ongoing fiscal 2026.

According to CEO Samant, "We will work on the expansion plans in its Own Brands and Wine Tourism businesses in FY2026". Further, he mentioned capitalizing on the thriving Wine tourism to boost the brand visibility.