I am no distinguished critic. Just an ordinary consumer who’s been in the market for 7 odd years. So like all of us, when something new hits the market, I go for it. You cant miss Fuel, thanks to its packaging. Looks hip. The hoardings look hip. And it is only when you take a sip, that you realize the hip factor ends with the packaging.
Let me put it this way. There is a clear divide in the Indian vodka market. At one end you have the volume drivers selling around Rs.250 a bottle (Romanov, Alcazar, White Mischief). On the other extreme you have the premium Smirnoff, almost twice the price of a regular vodka brand. Fuel seems to Seagram’s attempt to do what they did with Royal Stag in whisky. Help regular consumers upgrade a bit, without pinching the wallet too much.
But they’ve sadly failed. Miserably. Because when you up the expectations, you got to deliver. The inside the Fuel bottle is the same. Not smoother. Has the same bite that any regular vodka has. Leaves one with a simple thought - why pay more for a bottle that looks funkier? The regular vodka consumers are price conscious. Otherwise they would be going for Smirnoff or Absolut every alternate day. Unless you can deliver on quality, like how they managed with Royal Stag, its very difficult to move consumers upwards.
My parting word of advice - if you are happy with your White Mischief, please stay happy. Dont try and ruin an evening with Fuel.