How we are building an Indian Startup using the Blue Ocean Strategy - and How You Can Too

Vishal Robertson
Aug 22
5 min read

India's beverage market is crowded, saturated, and frankly, a bit boring. Walk into any store and you'll see the same players fighting over the same customers with the same old products. But what if I told you there's a way to make the competition completely irrelevant?

That's exactly what we've doing at MyOwnBrews with the Blue Ocean Strategy in India. We aren't entering the beverage market to compete – instead we have created our own blue ocean where traditional beverage companies can't even swim.

The Red Ocean We Left Behind

The Indian beverage industry is a classic red ocean – messy competition where everyone's fighting for the same slice of pie. Traditional players compete on:

Price wars that hurt margins
Shelf space battles in retail stores
Marketing spend to grab attention
Distribution networks to reach customers
Brand recognition built over decades

Sound familiar? It's the same story everywhere – companies bleeding each other dry while customers get more of the same processed, preservative-laden drinks.

But here's the thing about red oceans: they're only red because everyone's fighting in the same space.

Our Blue Ocean Strategy in India

Instead of joining this feeding frenzy, we took a step back and asked: What if people could make their own fresh, healthy beverages at home?

Using the Blue Ocean Strategy framework that I came across from a blog post from ThePowerMBA (link attached at the end of this post), my co-founder and I analysed what the beverage industry was competing over and what they were completely ignoring:

What We Eliminated:

Preservatives and additives – Why add chemicals when fresh is better?
Artificial flavours and colours – Real fruit gives better taste and color
Long supply chains – From factory to home in multiple steps
Limited variety – Stuck with what's on shelves

What We Reduced:

Cost – Beverages made with our brew bags cost 1/3rd that of store-bought alternatives
Time commitment – 4x faster fermentation than traditional methods
Complexity – Simple brew bags, no complicated measuring and storing brewing ingredients

What We Raised:

Freshness – Made in your kitchen, consumed when you want
Health benefits – Live probiotics, no artificial anything
Customisation – Make it exactly how you like it

What We Created:

Patented brew bag technology – Revolutionary fermentation system
Fruit waste utilisation – Turn overripe fruit into amazing beverages
Home brewery experience – Professional results in your kitchen
Sustainable brewing – Reduce waste, reduce carbon footprint

A graphic depicting the Four Action Framework for MyOwnBrews — Four Action Framework: MyOwnBrews

The Technology That Changed Everything

Our Ultimate Brew Bags aren't just packets of yeast – they're engineered fermentation systems. Here's what makes them special:

4x Faster Fermentation: While traditional home-brewing takes weeks to months, our brew bags deliver finished beverages in just 2 days for probiotics and 7-10 days for wines and beers. This speed comes from our specially formulated yeast blend and process that optimises fermentation conditions.

1/3rd the Cost: When you calculate the cost per bottle, homemade beverages using our brew bags cost around ₹50-60 per 250ml bottle of probiotic compared to ₹150+ for store-bought alternatives and ₹150-300 per 750ml bottle of wine compared to ₹900+ for a decent wine from your local wine store.

Zero Waste Philosophy: Got overripe mangoes? Leftover fruit peels? Juice about to expire? Our brew bags turn all of this "waste" into delicious beverages. We're literally helping Indian households (and over time businesses) reduce fruit waste while creating value.

Clean Ingredients: No preservatives, no artificial colours, no added flavours. Just pure, natural fermentation the way it was meant to be.

Finding Our Non-Customers

Every Blue Ocean strategy starts with understanding who's not being served by the current market. We identified three groups:

Soon-to-be Customers:

Health-conscious Indians tired of sugar-loaded, chemical-heavy beverages but unable to find better alternatives in stores.

Refusing Customers:

People who avoided alcoholic beverages due to quality concerns, artificial ingredients, or lack of variety in the market.

Unexplored Customers:

Sustainability-minded individuals looking for ways to reduce household waste and carbon footprint – a growing segment the beverage industry completely ignored.

The Indian Context: Why This Works

India is perfectly suited for this blue ocean strategy:

Growing Health Consciousness: Indian consumers are increasingly aware of what they're putting in their bodies. The functional beverages market in India is projected to reach ₹1,355 crores by 2033, growing at 11.30% CAGR.

Fruit Abundance and Waste: India produces over 100 million tons of fruits annually, yet 40% goes to waste due to poor supply chain infrastructure. We're turning this problem into opportunity.

Cultural Affinity: Indians have been fermenting foods for millennia – from idli batter to traditional drinks like feni and mahua. We're just modernising ancient wisdom.

Rising Disposable Income: Urban Indians are willing to invest in premium, healthy alternatives, especially when they can make them at home.

Beyond Competition: Value Innovation

Traditional beverage companies are stuck in the old trade-off thinking: either provide premium quality at high prices or mass-market products at low prices.

We rejected this entirely.

Our brew bags deliver premium quality at mass-market prices while adding completely new value dimensions like sustainability, customisation, and the joy of making something yourself.

This isn't just about beverages – it's about empowerment. We're giving people control over what they drink, when they drink it, and how it's made.

The Ripple Effect

By swimming in blue waters, we've created ripple effects across multiple industries:

Environmental Impact: Every household using our brew bags reduces plastic bottle waste, carbon emissions from transportation, and food waste.

Economic Impact: Families save money while getting better quality beverages. It's a win-win that traditional companies can't replicate.

Social Impact: We're reviving the culture of making things at home, bringing families together around the brewing process.

Health Impact: Fresh, probiotic-rich beverages support gut health and overall wellness in ways that processed alternatives simply can't.

The Future is Blue

While traditional beverage companies continue battling in red oceans – fighting over shelf space, marketing budgets, and distribution deals – we're expanding our blue ocean.

We're not just a beverage company. We're a lifestyle revolution that happens to involve beverages.

The beauty of a true blue ocean strategy is that it's nearly impossible for traditional competitors to replicate. They can't suddenly start selling brew bags without cannibalising their existing business. They can't embrace the "make it yourself" philosophy without undermining their entire distribution model.

By the time they figure out how to respond, we'll be swimming in even bluer waters.

Ready to Dive In?

The red ocean is crowded, messy, and honestly, pretty depressing. But blue oceans? They're filled with possibility, innovation, and sustainable growth.

We didn't just find our blue ocean – we created it. And every day, more Indians are joining us in these clear, clean waters where fresh, healthy, homemade beverages are the norm, not the exception.

The question isn't whether you'll eventually switch to healthier, homemade beverages. The question is: will you be part of this blue ocean revolution from the beginning, or will you wait until everyone else has already made the swim?

The water's perfect. Come on in.