Having seen the gin-surgence, India is now in the midst of a tequila revolution.

Growing faster than the global average, tequila revenue in India is projected to reach $76.03 million in 2025, with annual growth expected at 9.86% between 2025 and 2030. Finding the time ripe for their India entry, Loca Loka—a tequila brand backed by two popular South Indian celebrities, music composer Anirudh Ravichander and actor Rana Daggubati—plans to launch in tier-1 cities across the country starting this October.

“We’re planning the India launch sometime in October. Before that, we’ll be launching in Dubai in September, and after India, it will be Australia and the UK,” Ravichander told Fortune India.

Loca Loka was founded by three co-founders—Sreeharsha Vadlamudi, Ravichander, and Daggubati. The idea was initiated by Vadlamudi, a serial entrepreneur who had previously ventured into the craft beer space through Ironhill Hospitalities. With Daggubati on board, Ravichander soon joined the venture. The brand was launched with completely bootstrapped funding, though the founders have not disclosed their individual investments. Their aim: to build a global brand by producing original Mexican tequila with complete control over the product.

What’s notable is that the trio deliberately decided to keep India out of their plans for the first two years. The reason? They wanted to enter the Indian market with a product that had already achieved some success in mature markets.

“Though we are Indians as individuals, we always aspire to create something global. And Loca Loka stands for that. It is a global brand first, and then it is coming to India—after 12 months of being consumed in mature tequila-drinking countries,” said Baahubali-fame actor Daggubati.

“It takes time for us to set everything up before we actually enter the market. When we hit it [Loca Loka] here in India, we want to hit it right,” Ravichander added.

Globally, tequila is projected to generate $37.63 billion in revenue and reach a total volume of 800.88 million litres in 2025, according to Statista. Ravichander, known for hits like Chaleya and Hukum, shared that the brand is already present across 12 U.S. states, with a substantial presence in Singapore.

The brand also raised an additional $12 million from a Singapore-based family office. Though founded by Indian entrepreneurs, the company is incorporated in Singapore and operates with a global team of 15, with separate teams for different geographies.

Over 10x growth in the U.S., backed by the Indian diaspora

Speaking about the U.S. journey, Vadlamudi revealed that the brand has seen 10x growth in the past year, largely driven by accolades and support from the Indian diaspora.

“In the U.S., we’ve done really well. Our sales have exceeded expectations. From where we started a year ago, we’ve seen 10 times the volume month-on-month. We’ve also won several awards in the American market—including a gold and a silver at the San Francisco Spirit Awards for both our variants. Our U.S. strategy has been driven by accolades and strong branding. The Indian diaspora has been a major support,” he said.

Expansion spree, pricing, and India strategy

For now, Loca Loka is on an expansion spree across countries, with Southeast Asian nations next in line before India.

In India, the brand plans to begin by tapping duty-free stores at airports. It has already signed up with GMR Airports, and its two offerings—Blanco and Reposado—will be available at Hyderabad and Delhi airports by the end of this or early next month.

 “The Philippines is coming up at the end of this month. Malaysia is opening next month. There are a lot of duty-free openings lined up this year—we’re opening in almost 11 airports. So Hyderabad and Delhi will open by the end of this month or early next month,” said Vadlamudi.

“Entering the domestic market will take another two months, as the paperwork for Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gurgaon, Delhi, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu is underway. For our launch, we plan to start in four major cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad,” he added.

While the co-founders have not disclosed exact pricing, Vadlamudi hinted that the products will be competitively priced compared to legacy players.

“We can’t disclose pricing at this point because it will be determined once we enter individual state markets, but we’re in a very competitive range with other brands, including legacy players,” he said.

Diageo, for instance, launched its Don Julio brand in India in 2023, including Don Julio Blanco, Don Julio Reposado, Don Julio Añejo, and the ultra-premium Don Julio 1942—with the first two priced at around ₹8,000 and above.