Chennai: Liquor major Appollo Alchobev Limited is in high spirits. The company is considering a greenfield plant in Goa to manufacture wine at an outlay of Rs3.5 crore. Appollo also has a brewery licence in Rajasthan. In addition the company is contemplating botting imported scotch here.

The company also plans to enter into whiskey, white spirits, adventure spirits, rum and brandy segments, while launching an aggressive brand building campaign in the southern market for Old Secret rum.

According to CEO Sat Pal Chaudhry, the Karnataka spirits market has grown tremendously in the recent past and has helped consolidate our leadership in select categories. We have also gained significantly in the South.

The rum brand, Old Secret, ranks second in its segment and the company plans to sell over eight lakh cases in south this year. "We hope to repeat this success in Orissa and West Bengal and roll out nationally by the end of 2005."

Accordingly, the company has planned its above- and below-the-line campaign. The company is also looking at cross promotional and marketing activities on the silver screen. It has tested the waters by entering into a sponsorship arrangement for the recent release of a movie in Tamil Nadu.

The company is considering such initiatives in the leisure and entertainment industries across the nation to give greater visibility to their brands.

Appollo is also studying the northern India markets like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttaranchal and has plans to get into the market soon.