How Danny Denzongpa built India’s 3rd-largest beer brand, foiled Vijay Mallya, contributes ₹100 crore to NE economy

Vijay Mallya is recognized for transforming the beer industry in India. Before the surge created by his United Breweries, beer was not one of the preferred drinks in India. Currently, 45 crore beer cases are purchased annually in India. Mallya’s achievement was rooted in outpacing rivals at every opportunity to dominate the beer industry in India. However, there was one market where he was defeated fairly, and that was by a Bollywood celebrity. This is the tale of how Danny Denzongpa outplayed the king of good times at his own craft.

Danny, whose real name is Tshering Phintso Denzongpa, was born in Sikkim in 1948 and started his Bollywood journey in 1971 with Zaroorat. Throughout the years, he has performed in several major successes of the Hindi film industry, such as Love Story, Ghatak, Agneepath, Khuda Gawah, Krantiveer, and China Gate. In 1987, the actor expanded into the beer industry by establishing Yuksom Breweries in his home state. The firm is named after his place of origin. In 2005, he broadened the enterprise by establishing Denzong Breweries in Odisha. Four years later, he obtained Rhino Agencies in Assam. As stated on Yuksom’s website, the brand’s annual production capacity is 6.8 lakh HL. This positions Yuksom as the third-largest beer company in India, surpassed only by Kingfisher and Kimaya. All other brands with greater production levels are from abroad, including Hogaarden, Budweiser, Carlsberg, etc.

In 2009, the Indian beer market was growing significantly. The North East was seen as the last stronghold. Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries dominated nearly all of India but had yet to penetrate the seven northeastern states. The liquor tycoon targeted Assam’s Rhino Agencies, a recently established brewery, for that purpose. Nevertheless, Danny aimed for his Yuksom to take over the NE market. MSN stated that upon learning of Mallya’s acquisition intentions, Danny purchased Rhino Agencies personally and strengthened his market position. UB never acquired a brewery in the northeast and avoided production in that region.

Yuksom mostly hires local residents in Danny’s effort to support his home state. In 2022, Sikkim Express reported that the northeastern breweries provide jobs for 250 individuals and contribute up to ₹100 crore annually to the local economy. Danny has been less active in selecting films in recent years, concentrating on his business ventures instead. Nonetheless, the actor has continued to appear in successful movies such as Baby (along with its spinoff Naam Shabana) in recent years. He was seen most recently in a cameo in the Uunchai film, featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, and Boman Irani, which premiered in 2022.