It is being said that life without challenges is quite boring and Ajay Shetty, the founder of Salud Beverages, is not one of those who will like to live a boring life. In fact Ajay Shetty is a person who loves to face challenges and overcome them and this is proved by the fact that he left his high-paying job of a banker for becoming an entrepreneur.
Born on 18th April 1979 in Bengaluru, Ajay Shetty completed his graduation in computer science from Christ College, Bengaluru, and then Masters in computer science and MIS from New York Institute of Technology and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
After completing his studies, Ajay Shetty worked as a banker with Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch and he dealt in Equity Markets while being posted in New York and Hong Kong. However, there came a time when he was not able to find any challenge in his job which made him take the decision of becoming an entrepreneur. Ajay Shetty commenced Myra Vineyards which he later on sold to Grover Zampa Vineyards in the year 2019.
The year 2020 came with a disaster which was given the name of the COVID-19 pandemic and the whole world had to face its wrath. Ajay Shetty knew that starting a business in such times can be a big mistake as the economy of even the developed nations crumbled due to lockdown but the fearless and dynamic entrepreneur within him told him to go ahead with his Bengaluru-based next venture that he named as Salud Beverages.
If you are not able to understand the meaning of “Salud”, let us tell you that it is a Spanish word which means “cheers to health”. Ajay Shetty entered the alcobev segment because he sensed huge growth opportunity in this segment and this motivated him to come up with India’s first Gin & Tonic brand which also gave him the first mover advantage despite the fact that he and his team had to face many challenges due to COVID-19. Ajay aims to develop Salud Beverages as urban lifestyle brand as his new business venture is based on the idea of making the world aware of Life 2.0 that is a new way of not just living but celebrating the life. Salud Beverages is bringing a big change in the manner in which people party with their friends and family by using clean drinking and music.
Ajay Shetty’s focus is mainly on the gin market, though there is less demand for gin in comparison to other alcoholic drinks such as rum and vodka, what makes gin market attractive is the fact that it is a growing market which is showing a growth of around 9 percent and it seems to grow like this till 2023. In order to make its presence felt and impress customers, Salud Beverages launched G&T 2.0 which has alcoholic beverages in three different flavors – original, lavender and cucumber.
The drinks which have been launched by Salud Beverages, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, have a universal appeal and they are quite classy, stylish and modernistic as far as their taste is concerned.
Looking forward to enter Goa and Odisha markets, Salud Beverages has raised $1.1 million by March 2021 and it has also brought the actor Rana Daggubati on board as an investor, though the amount which has been invested by the Baahubali actor is not yet known.
Ajay Shetty is pretty much determined to innovate and launch new products in the market which will give more options to the customers and will also help in creating a loyal consumer base for his company.
