Bunta Beer: The Inspirational Story Behind the UK's First Non-Alcoholic Indian Craft Beer

Discover how former Adidas executive Gunikka Ahuja left a six-figure career to create Bunta Beer, the UK's first non-alcoholic Indian craft beer designed to perfectly complement Indian cuisine.

Sometimes the biggest business success stories begin with a simple conversation.

For Gunikka Ahuja, it started when she mentioned to her brother she was thinking of walking away from a six-figure career with Adidas to launch a beer company. His response was short, but unforgettable:

"Our food deserves better."

Those four words became the inspiration behind Bunta Beer, now recognised as the UK's first non-alcoholic Indian craft beer created specifically to complement Indian cuisine.

Growing up in New Delhi, food was always at the heart of family life for Gunikka. Sunday biryanis, celebrations and gatherings around the table created lasting memories where food represented culture, tradition and connection. Beer was often present too, but it never seemed to enjoy the same thoughtful relationship with the meal itself.

After moving to Los Angeles to study textile technology and later building a successful innovation career with Adidas, regular visits to her brother in London introduced her to Britain's much-loved tradition of enjoying a curry with a pint.

Yet something didn't feel right.

While Indian cuisine in the UK had evolved dramatically, the beers traditionally served alongside it had not. 

Many were heavy, overly bitter and excessively fizzy, often overpowering rather than enhancing the complex flavours on the plate.

Rather than accepting that as simply "the way things are", Gunikka saw an opportunity.

Leaving behind a career worth more than $100,000 a year was undoubtedly a leap of faith, but it allowed her to pursue a vision built around flavour, innovation and cultural pride. After more than 50 recipe iterations, she developed Bunta's flagship Citrus Lager, a light, refreshing, alcohol-free beer featuring delicate orange peel and coriander seed, ingredients that naturally echo many of the flavours found in Indian cooking.

The results speak for themselves.

Since launching in 2025, Bunta Beer has expanded into more than 40 restaurants across the UK, introduced draught beer, built a thriving direct-to-consumer business and earned a prestigious Gold award at the 2026 London Beer Competition. At just 60 calories per can, it is also vegan and gluten-free (containing less than 20ppm gluten). https://londonbeercompetition.com/en/competition-global-results/2026/

For lovers of Indian food, it's an exciting reminder that great food deserves equally thoughtful drinks.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Gunikka's journey offers an equally powerful lesson: sometimes the best opportunities come not from following a well-trodden career path, but from spotting something everyone else has overlooked. 

When passion, culture and innovation come together, remarkable things can happen, and occasionally, they arrive in a beautifully crafted pint.

To learn about Bunta Beer please visit them at https://www.buntabeer.com

If you want to discuss stocking Bunta Beer info@buntabeer.co.uk 

BRULO raises over £1m as Zoopla, Beavertown and Funkin founders back premium alcohol free beer challenger

BRULO, the premium alcohol free beer brand which is redefining modern drinking culture, has raised over £1 million in its first funding round, as the alcohol free beer category accelerates across both on-trade and grocery.

It's been attracting backing from some of the UK's most successful consumer and drinks entrepreneurs.

Investors joining the round include Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla, Cazoo and LoveFilm; Logan Plant, founder of Beavertown; Alex Carlton, founder of Funkin Cocktails; Richard Kaffel, founder of Red Letter Days; Andrew King, former Funkin and AG Barr executive; Freddy Ward, founder of WILD; and Max Lousada, former CEO of Warner Music UK.

Founded by James Brown, previously the founder of Beer52, BRULO has emerged as one of the UK's fastest-growing alcohol free beer businesses, combining premium branding, data-led product development, and a profitable, asset-light operating model. The Guardian has described BRULO as “The Rolls-Royce of Alcohol Free Beers”.

The company reported £3.6m in net sales with 21% EBITDA in its most recent financial year and has grown revenues at a 70% compound annual growth rate over the past three years. BRULO has been profitable since launch and continues to outperform category benchmarks, with a Net Promoter Score of 79 and a repeat purchase rate of 73% across its direct-to-consumer channel.

As part of the round, BRULO has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Alex Carlton, founder of Funkin Cocktails, and drinks industry veteran Andrew King as co-chairs and non-executive directors. Together, they bring deep brand building and commercial experience across premium beverages and will support strategy, distribution, and commercial partnerships across UK on-trade, off-trade channels and international territories. 

Product innovation remains central to BRULO's growth strategy. Following the successful sell out launch of its CBD IPA, the company is building a world first alcohol free innovation pipeline for 2026 focused on the “Blurred Lines” opportunity, serving the growing majority who flex between drinking and not drinking and are making alcohol free beer an everyday choice in a £15bn+ global category.

International momentum is accelerating and now accounts for around half of sales. BRULO is listed in Dean & DeLuca stores across Japan and is the number one alcohol free beer on Amazon Japan. The company has also established a new fulfilment hub in the Netherlands to support EU direct-to-consumer expansion, with European shipping set to launch in the coming weeks. BRULO's next phase of growth will also focus on unlocking on-trade and grocery listings in key markets where the brand already has strong traction.

James Brown, Founder of BRULO, told That's Food and Drink: “This round brings together founders and operators who have built some of the most recognisable consumer brands in the UK. Their support is a huge vote of confidence in what we're building. Alcohol free beer is entering a defining phase ,and we believe BRULO is uniquely positioned to build a standout global brand in the category.”

Alex Carlton, Co-Chair of BRULO, added: "In this industry, you rarely see a founder nail the 'holy trinity' right out of the gate, but James has done exactly that with BRULO: an exceptional liquid that genuinely over-delivers on taste, a beautiful, modern brand, and a highly efficient business model. Having spent my career building Funkin and STRYKK, I knew immediately that I had to be part of this journey.

The category opportunity is enormous as we move toward a 'blurred lines' drinking culture, and I'm incredibly proud to have brought together such a world-class group of investors to back this vision. I'm grateful to every one of them for joining us, we've assembled a truly all-star cap table. Now it's all about execution, and I couldn't be more excited to work with James, to scale BRULO into a global leader.”

To allow additional investors to participate alongside these backers, BRULO has reopened its Crowdcube round from 9:00am on 19th January 2026 for a strictly limited one-week period, giving the wider community the opportunity to join before it closes.

https://www.crowdcube.com/companies/brulo/pitches/bV6pVb

BRULO is a UK based alcohol free beer brand brewing bold, modern beers designed to stand shoulder to shoulder with full strength classics. Its flagship beer and best selling beer is Lust For Life IPA. The company sells through direct-to-consumer, hospitality, retail, and international export channels.

For more information, visit www.brulobeer.com