Mishra’s expertise in leading some of the subcontinent’s top alcobev brands might be harnessed for the proposed foray, said the people cited above. He joins RJ Corp at a time when India’s alcoholic beverages market regains momentum, led by rising demand for premium spirits. Spirits volumes climbed about 4% in FY26 to 440 million cases, compared with 1.6% growth a year earlier, while beer volumes also rose 4% to 474 million cases.
Mishra, who until recently served as managing director for Diageo Japan and Korea, was also chairman of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL franchise and Diageo India’s chief commercial officer. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Mohan Meakins and Pernod Ricard.
RJ Corp’s bottling company, Varun Beverages (VBL), which has been PepsiCo’s exclusive bottling partner for nearly three decades, recently entered into a fresh agreement with PepsiCo. This agreement removes restrictions on the lines of businesses and allows it to diversify into other drinks businesses as well.
Late last year, VBL, PepsiCo’s second largest bottler globally, had announced a distribution partnership with beer maker Carlsberg Breweries in Africa, a development widely seen as a precursor to a similar tie-up in India over time. RJ Corp is also exploring options of buying out craft beer Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain’s 17.8% stake in the beer company, after Jain’s exit, one of the executives cited above said.
“For RJ Corp, a move into alcoholic beverages would mean higher bandwidth, across group company Devyani International’s restaurant business as well. Besides, there are significant synergies in distribution networks of both businesses,” one of the executives cited above said. Earlier this year, Devyani International had announced a merger with Sapphire Foods, both of which operate Yum! Brands’ owned KFC and Pizza Hut, in a share-swap deal, with DIL creating a unified food services entity. Executives at RJ Corp and Mishra could not be reached for comments. Mishra was part of Diageo’s leadership team that oversaw the integration of United Spirits following its acquisition by the global liquor maker.
As chief commercial officer, he led company’s “3 Indias” strategy, focusing on market-specific portfolio and distribution plans to drive premiumisation and commercial execution. He served as managing director for Japan and Korea.Mishra also chaired Royal Challengers Bengaluru during a period when the franchise won its first Women’s Premier League and Indian Premier League titles.
India is the world’s largest spirits market by volume and remains a priority market for global liquor companies as a growing middle class trades up to premium brands and millions of consumers reach the legal drinking age every year.