The return of a ‘feni’ legacy

From Donna to Dona

Goa in the 1980s was a different place altogether. The local spirit feni was one of the items, along with Goan cashew that the diaspora spread across Mumbai, Delhi and London never forgot to pack on their return journeys at the end of summer holidays.

It didn’t matter that the spirit was packed in plastic bottles and there were less than a handful of brands selling feni. “Back then, people had confidence in the product and their main criteria was that the spirit had to be easy to carry," Hansel says.

The brand also created some unforgettable memories for their villagers in Cuncolim during that decade. Hansel remembers the entire village coming together to pack a large order of feni ordered for export to the Middle East by Hindustan Unilever. “We needed 15 people just to process the order. We were making rice to turn into glue that would seal the bottles. The folks came in an Ambassador car and I was later treated to a meal at Mandovi, the most exclusive restaurant at the time," he recalls.

When the brand wanted to make coconut feni, they decided to use green bottles and instantly created a boom with the bottles as it was something no one had ever seen before. But it is the label that comes with the most interesting backstory.

The original label was made by JJ School of Arts alumni David Fernandes, but it had one glaring error in the name. The brand was spelled as Donna Maria instead of Dona Maria. Hansel says this was a misunderstanding. “The extra N alphabet denotes a term of respect much the same way Don Julio tequila is named."

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The bottle art was hand-painted by Fernandes with the words ‘cashew fenny’ in big letters to distinguish it from the other popular white spirit of the time – vodka.

The rebranded version finally corrects the error, and is named Dona Maria, but there’s no 'cashew fenny' written on it. Hansel, with his aggressive push for feni over the past decade, has ensured that people don’t confuse it with any other spirit.

The new label also comes with a cork and wax seal bearing the family emblem designed by Wilson. When he first saw the new bottle, Wilson couldn’t help but smile. “I was desperate to get a reaction out of him," Hansel says simply of the moment.

The Dil Chahta Hai effect

Domestic tourists first began discovering the charms of Goa after the massive success of Dil Chahta Hai, the Aamir Khan starrer directed by Farhan Akhtar in 2001. The movie changed Goa – and feni – forever, according to Hansel.

Donna Maria was one among five-odd brands such as Big Boss and Cajulana among others selling feni in the state until then. But the jump in domestic tourists saw over a thousand feni brands launching at the turn of the century, leading to an alarming dip in quality and rise in prices.

Donna Maria was selling at INR 150 in 2013 and with a turnover of just INR 3 lakh in the entire year, it became clear that the brand wouldn’t survive any longer. Feni had acquired a bad taste over the previous decade, and locals had gone back to their trusted sources for the spirit.

“I didn’t know how to break the news to my parents so I just said someone had forgotten to register the label that year (in 2014). They met the news with absolute silence at the time. I wanted to relaunch since 2018 because my parents are now in their 70s, and this is their legacy," Hansel says.

Hansel was already working on Cazulo, a more premium version of feni to raise standards and prices of the spirit. It took him a year to figure out the entire process and the spirit stayed in barrels until they were ready to launch in the market.

When Cazulo Premium Feni hit stores in 2018, it was a one-year rested bottle selling for INR 600 that shocked locals who feared the spirit was going out of their hands. Dona Maria will sell for the same amount with the relaunch.

Balancing brands

Hansel says that there is space for a good feni brand at the lower end of the price point in the market today where Dona Maria can make a mark. While Cazulo now sells for INR 900 a bottle, most other new-age feni brands sell for even higher prices. “It’s a calculated move to launch at a lower price point because no one is playing at that price point," he adds.

More than the price, it’s the renewed nostalgia that has caught Hansel by surprise. When his team approached retail stores with the new bottle, many old-timers looked back with fondness at the brand. This is also the target audience that Hansel wants to go after. According to him, while Cazulo is a feni brand for everyone interested in the spirit, “Dona Maria is for a Goan who wants to drink at home with friends and family."

The first batch of Dona Maria’s 6500 bottles is now available in Goa for sale, but not without its own glitch. Hansel’s team had asked for a red seal but received a magenta-purple seal, something that will be unique only to the first batch of Dona Maria along with yet another story to pass on to the family about its most cherished brand.

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Priyanko Sarkar is a Mumbai-based writer covering the F&B industry.