Nightlife industry seeks its place in the sun
Leave a reply
Make Mumbai 24 x 7 was the buzz word at Indian Nightlife Convention and Awards 2016 as the industry debated as to how create a more vibrant night life which in turn would be a boon to the restaurant industry.
India Nightlife Convention and Awards (INCA) 2016 presented by Danke in association with Johnnie Walker, powered by Dineout, the intellectual property of Kickstart Entertainment and an initiative by National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) brought India’s nightlife industry together. It is the first platform specifically designed to bring together and recognize the various stakeholders of one of India’s most vibrant and fastest growing Industries – Nightlife.
The 25th morning began with a customary lighting of the lamp followed by a dynamic opening speech by Riyaaz Amlani, President NRAI. Riyaaz spoke about the revenue that the nightlife industry contributes to the economy and the need for regulation and easy single door policy to make doing business smoother. He went on to highlight the need for the leaders of the hospitality trade to bring in a more ethical and streamlined approach to doing business as a club or bar.
“National Restaurant Association of India strongly supports the India Nightlife Convention & Awards” said Riyaaz Amlani, adding, “The Contribution of the Nightlife industry also known as PBCLs (Pubs, Bar Cafes, and Lounges) to the nations GDP and employment has largely gone unrecognized. Currently there are over 6200 licensed bar premises, contributing over 11,500 crores to the Indian economy growing at an astonishing CAGR of 20% making it the fastest growing Industry in the country outperforming the Indian IT Industry and beating GDP growth rates 3x employing over 20 Lakh people. The Nightlife business is also the fastest growing segment in the overall foodservices space, growing twice as fast as QSRs and Casual Dining segments. The time has come for the Nightlife industry to be recognized as an independent booming Industry of its own.”
Mr. Aaditya Thackeray, the keynote rhetorician at the convention then discussed his plans to help revive the nightlife of the city through amending necessary laws. Aaditya Thackeray the new emerging dynamic leader of the Shiv Sena aims to help in establishing the financial capital of India as a tourism hub helping in generate revenue, employment and paving the path to a safer city with malls, theaters, food establishments, chemists, convenience stores staying open 24X7, and creating special nightlife entertainment zones in non-residential areas. He made an announcement saying that his current focus is the Single Window Licensing Policy for the food service industry which will be getting a nod from the Government very soon.
Those that spoke on day one of the convention included Riyaaz Amlani (President, NRAI and CEO & MD, Impresario), AD Singh (Olive); Sophia Sinha (Moet Hennessy), Kishore DF (Bang on Consulting), Himanshu Vaswani (Bajao), Ayaz Basrai (The Busride), Rahul Singh (The Beer Café), Jay Singh (JSM Corporations), Karan Kapur (Irish House) and many more. International Speakers included Lutz Leichsenring (Berlin Clubcommission), Ewan Gunn(Diageo), Bradley Drummond (Harman International). The regional award winners were also announced at intervals throughout the first day of the convention.
Day two saw a number of influential speakers with sessions taking place at two different stages: one at the ballroom and one at the terrace garden. Bollywood actor Imran Khan, David Desouza (Tito’s), Sandeep Singh (Bira), Gaurav Gupta (Danke), Rahul Mehra (Gateway Brewing), Sohail Arora (Krunk), Naveen Deshpande (Mixtape), Keenan & Ryan Tham (Trilogy), Dino Morea (Playground), Mona Juneja (Butter), Priyank Sukhija (Lazeez Affaire Group), Manu Chandra (Olive), Tanya Swetta (id8 media solutions), Malini Agarwal (Miss Malini), Toshit Bharara (Zomato), Rishi Jaitly (Twitter), Shatbhi Basu, International speaker Alan Miller (Night Time Association Industries) and many more came together to speak on various topics pertaining to nightlife.
Gaurav Gupta CEO, Danke Exim India Pvt. Ltd said, “We are very proud to be a part of INCA as there cannot be a better platform than this to announce the launch of Danke to the who’s who of the Nightlife industry and we look forward to redefine the beer culture in India.”
Also seen present were members of the Advisory Board – Riyaaz Amlani (President, NRAI & CEO/MD, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt Ltd), AD Singh (Owner, Olive Bar & Kitchen Pvt Ltd), Dilip Joshi (Consultant for Restaurants, bars, nightclubs & Lounges), Kishore DF (Director, Bang On Consulting), David DeSouza (Owner, Tito’s Goa) and Jay Singh (Co -Founder and Executive Director, JSM Corporation Pvt Ltd), title sponsor Gaurav Gupta (Danke Exim India Pvt Ltd), Bradley Drummond (Solutions Manager at Harman Nightlife), Ewan Gunn (Diageo Whisky Master), Alan Miller (Chairman & Founder at Night Time Industries Association) and all partners and sponsors.
Speaking on the success of India Nightlife Convention & Awards 2016, Aman Anand Director of Kickstart Entertainment said, “We are proud to have presented a huge prospect to the industry enthusiasts helping them gain insights and the personal experiences of International renowned speakers as well as felicitating the best in the bar and nightlife industry. The event attracted attendees from across India and assisted the nightlife peers to connect and develop a social network thereby helping them build their customer base. After the success of the first edition of India Nightlife Convention & Awards, we are looking forward to taking INCA a notch higher in 2017.”
Riyaaz Amlani, President, NRAI said, “It was great to be a part of an intellectual property like India Nightlife Convention & Awards. The whole idea of creating a nightlife community like INCA and promoting accessibility, ideation, cross-pollination and development was victorious in every possible way. All stakeholders of the industry whether musicians, restaurant owners, talent or government authorities were present at one venue, networking and helping contribute to the vibrant nightlife of the country. It has helped in nurturing a cultural bridge creating better conditions for the nightlife industry to flourish.”
BOX
Below are the various award categories listed down along with the national winners:
Best Dive Bar-The Ghetto/The High Spirits Cafe
Best Open Air Bar-AER
Best Bar Food-Monkey Bar
Best Café Bar-Heart Cup Coffee/Beer Cafe
Best Debut Bar-Masalabar
Best Bar Chain-Social
Best Beer Bar-Doolally Taproom
Best Cocktail Bar-PCO
Best Resto Bar-Café Zoe
Best Sports Bar-Underdoggs Sports Bar
Best Bar in Hotel-The Library Bar
Best Nightclub-Trilogy
Best Venue for Live Performance-Bluefrog
Best Wine Bar-The Tasting Room
Best Concept Bar-Bar Stock Exchange
Best Bar Interior-Social
Best Lounge-Asilo
Best Pop-up- Playground
Best Promoter The Wild City
Best Artist Manager-Only Much Louder
Best Live Bands/Acts-Peter Cat Recording Co.
DJ of the year-Nucleya
Bar of the year-Social
Best F&B Director-Mayank Bhatt
Best Music Event Festival-Bacardi NH7 Weekender
Best Bartender/Mixologist-Nitin Tewari/ Dimitri Lezinska
Lifetime Contribution Award-David DeSouza
