CEO Insights Magazine

Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision”, Peter Drucker. Samrat Reddy, Founder of Drunken Monkey is one such courageous leader who decided to quit his job at Infosys when he was placed in Australia and be an entrepreneur. During his stay in Australia, he observed that the number of places that serve coffee is far greater than places that serve smoothies. He felt if given a chance to experience smoothies, a huge number of people would turnover and incorporate them into their lifestyle.

Being a fitness enthusiast himself, Samrat wanted others to include a healthy beverage as a part of their meal. Looking to fill the huge gap in people’s lifestyles as well as in the market he conducted extensive research on the potential of the smoothie market and subsequently came up with a business plan. In 2016, he inaugurated the first outlet of Drunken Monkey in Hyderabad. Ever since then there was no looking back. Today he owns 110+ outlets across Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru & Kolkata. The Young Turk has worn many caps all under which he has nurtured different dreams only because of his habit of never giving up on learning. Let’s hear it from Samrat.

What unseen opportunities did you see that made your startup a success? Also, what are yourviews on customer experience?
The pandemic has accelerated the need for a healthier lifestyle and made healthy foods a necessity. The Indian market is positioned to grow 10-fold in this domain and there is a huge market gap to be delivered to help India become a fitter and healthier nation. Drunken monkey

aims to push the same cause through its tagline ‘Naturally High’. What I saw as an opportunity was India not having direct competition when it comes to smoothie players. There isn’t anyone who has expanded across India or created a brand across India like us. Hence, in terms of competition, our spread across India, in itself sets us apart. Drunken Monkey sees itself as a crusader for the smoothie revolution. I believe it is important to make every customer understand what we barter; we want to give them something meaningful in exchange for the currency they give us. Smoothies are fruits in liquid form and fruits are the healthiest form of food.

Reflect on some of the challenging days of your journey. How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
There have been many tough times throughout the journey which were the most challenging situations that I have been through. But situations like these made me understand that having a strong and positive attitude and outlook on everything, irrespective of the results, is the only way to survive. The balance is of utmost importance, that we are not swayed by our successes nor disturbed by failures.

What are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and cereals, are in higher demand as consumers recognize the need of leading cleaner and healthier lifestyles. The food and beverage market will welcome more products

featuring these components in 2022. This year we expect to gain momentum in what we call a smoothie revolution. We expect that through our effort smoothies become a part of every Indian's lifestyle and daily diet. I want to do to smoothies what Starbucks did to coffee. Three decades ago, coffee was not a culture, Starbucks made it what it is now. Over the next five years, Drunken Monkey will play a big part in making smoothies a lifestyle.

Tell us about your leadership approach and governance style. What are the values of people that get your attention? What would be your advice for budding leaders in the same industry?
Integrity and understanding of teamwork are the most important value I look for in people. I believe in taking risks and being aggressive in our approach, so having a strong and stable foundation to fall back on is para-mount. We encourage mistakes and failures. Giving in 100 percent and putting the necessary discipline and intelligence into achieving the goal is the only thing I look at the result is automatically taken care of.

As an entrepreneur specialize yourself in handling tough and unexpected challenges, by keeping yourself mentally strong and focused. And for everything which is process-oriented, build a strong team so that there are no let-offs.

Samrat Reddy, Founder, Drunken Monkey
Samrat has a bachelor’s degree in electronics and has pursued an MBA from the University of Strathclyde. He is experienced in handling leadership roles in diversifying domains. Drunken Monkey is the foundation of his vision to offer healthier beverages to the people of India

Hobbies:Travelling, yoga, basketball
Favorite Cuisine:Fruits, Homemade food
Favorite Book:Fountainhead
Favorite Travel Destination: Bali