INCA

The 2^nd edition of the India Nightlife Convention and Awards (INCA) held on September 30, 2017 at Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai presented by Budweiser, a property of Kickstart Entertainment and an initiative by NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) celebrated the best that Indian bars and nightlife have to offer. The two-day business convention included workshops and panel discussions with some of the industry’s most influential entrepreneurs and experts. Speakers included Mirik Milan (Night Mayor of Amsterdam), Amy Lamé (Night Czar of London) and Lutz Leichsenring (Club Commission of Berlin), Jorge Saza (Night Ambassador Madrid) and Frédéric Hocquard (Deputy Mayor – Night Time Policies- Paris), amongst many others.

Commenting on the property, Aman Anand, Kickstart Entertainment said, “The convention brings all the bars/restaurants across the country and celebrates the nightlife culture of the world by bringing together the Nightlife mayors and czars of Amsterdam, Paris, London and other cities together under one roof. Discussion are not only restricted to safety aspect but also the responsibility associated with night life industry and events.”

The convention kickstarted with opening remarks by Riyaaz Amlani, President, NRAI who welcomed all the local and international guests, and spoke about the initiative, INCA, and why such platforms are important going forward. “INCA provides an opportunity to look for various factors we could bring in from different cultures. INCA is a platform to discuss the key issues pertaining to the Indian nightlife business,” he said.

Also present at the inaugural ceremony, Aditya Thackeray, Head, Yuva Sena, Shiv Sena said, “Last year I promised that we will be trying to make Mumbai – 24x7,  and I’m happy to announce that promise is going to be fulfilled soon. The bill is passed and is in final stages of approval. Another ambition for Mumbai nightlife is to get rooftop outlets legalized. The proposal has been made to the BMC last week and the legal formalities are moving forward.”

A Fun and Safe Nightout

Panel – Amy Lamé (Night Czar, London), Riyaaz Amlani, Frédéric Hocquard (Deputy Mayor Night Time Policies, Paris), Shatbhi Basu (Director, Creative Consultants, STIR, Academy of Bartending), Kartikeya Sharma (Marketing Director, Ab-Inbev)

Moderator – Faye D’Souza (Executive Editor Mirror Now Times Network)

Amy Lamé, Night Czar, London: “A city progresses not only in the day but at night too. By creating nightlife, we not only provide a safe environment to the residents of the city but also provide ample job opportunities and make the city culturally rich.”

Night Mayor of Amsterdam, Mirik Milan: “Trendsetters and associations, should come together and even rebel as a united front to the Government, to create a smooth nightlife in the hero city. Nightlife is directly proportionate to alcohol sales but it also very much about spotting and creating trends, connecting people and providing safety to the residents.”

Deputy Mayor Night Time Policies, Paris, Frédéric Hocquard: “By various studies, it is proven that a city which sleeps early has higher crime rates rather than a city which is open 24x7. By nightlife, we are just not focusing on keeping bars and restaurants open, we need transportation, parks, ice-cream parlours, gyms – everything should stay open.”

Creating Cultures

Panel – Anshul Tibrewala (Digital Marketing Manager, Anheuser – Busch InBev), Hermit Sethi (Director, Submerge), Naveen Despande (Director, Mixtape), Vinay Khilnani (Deep in Dance/DID 360 founder), Nikhil Udupa (Founder – Partner, 4/4 Entertainment)

Moderator – Varun Patra (Marketing Head, Homegrown)

The panel discussion dealt with the culture of Nightlife for a city. People don’t often associate the words ‘nightlife’ with ‘culture’. Usually, a nightlife is termed as ‘Non-Sanskari’. At first glance, the two ideas don’t have anything in common. But when you take a moment to consider it, you’ll see that nightlife has a direct relationship to and a profound impact on all aspects of our wider culture.

Nightlife has its own behavior, art, beliefs and institutions that are distinctive. Our patterns of behavior express the changing times we live in as well as our social class. Nightlife is an abundant source of artistic activity that manifests itself in the music, drink, food, interior design, fashion and lifestyles of our community.

Music shapes culture; there is a massive increase in festivals, promoters, DJs, Artists, and nightlife comprises of music which builds a network of people who grow and excel within a city.

Annus Horribilis – Surviving the Worst Year in Hospitality

Panel – Pradeep Shetty (Director – Maharaja Hotels & Infra Inc), Manish Goyal (Managing Director, Apex Restaurants Ltd), Manu Chzandra (Chef/Restaurateur), Rahul Singh (Founder & CEO, Beer Café)

Moderator – Riyaz Amlani

Setting context to the panel discussion it was said that last year (2016) saw the hard times for the restaurant industry with the Supreme court liquor embargo on highway, demonetization, GST, service charge change, portion control, and licensing issues.

The panel discussed the best contributions of Pradeep Shetty (Director – Maharaja Hotels & Infra Inc), Manish Goyal (Managing Director, Apex Restaurants Ltd), Manu Chzandra (Chef/Restaurateur), Rahul Singh (Founder & CEO, Beer Café in improving and overcoming these challenging times. All the panelists received appreciation for their contribution towards highway liquor ban and continually following up legislative measures to let Supreme court reverse the decision.

Building the Vibe in a Bar

Panel – A.D. Singh (Managing Director, Olive Bar & Kitchen Pvt Ltd), David D’Souza (Owner, Tito’s), Nick Harrison (Co-Founder, Slink & Bardot), Nevil Timbadia (Partner – Auriga Hospitality & Entertainment), Rahul Khanna (Co-Founder & Director – Azure Hospitality)

Moderator – Shobita Kadan (Director – Marketing & Strategy, Impresario)

In today’s time, people look for the right vibe more than anything else — an atmosphere we love that complements our mood and creates the right kind of energy.

Today’s consumers are living in a golden age of entertainment, social connectivity and technology. They’re expecting a smart, unique, and shareable experience when they walk into today’s restaurants, and the most memorable vibe often wins their affection, their loyalty, and their tweets. 

Nevil Timbadia said, “Managers and staff are the face of your business. You need to keep your staff happy and also their influence on the music can create more employee satisfaction and improved customer service.”

A.D Singh, added, “Everyone is rushing in their respective lives. To build the right vibe, the vision and USP has to be right in the head of the owner / promoter and then half the battle is won.”

Rahul Khanna explained, “You have to make sure that you are giving your customers a memorable experience and they will come back.”

David D’Souza: “I don’t believe in TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet or any other social media platform as who will decide the right and wrong parameters for judging a bar. What if a person walks in to the bar and he is in a foul mood, then even the angels from heaven cannot make him happy.”

And with this day 1’s formal conference proceedings concluded in INCA 2017. In the evening, the Brotherhood of the nights recognized the top honors in the City award categories, Best F&B Director, Best Bar for Cocktails/Wines, Best Restro Bar, etc. Post the awards, the attendes had a gala time at the Sundowner party in The Great Room, Four Seasons, Mumbai.

Day 2, on October 1,2017, at INCA 2017 kickstarted with opening remarks by the Deputy Mayor Night Time Policies, Paris, Frédéric Hocquard – “In Paris, we have the Paris Nightlife Policy, which I believe should be a policy in each and every country. Nightlife is not a question of alcohol only, it is the answer to many challenges, like culture, town planning, safety, policies, law and order.”

Lutz Leichsenring, Club Commission, Berlin, spoke about the creative footprint of the Nightlife of a city, “Club culture is an inevitable asset to Berlin's tourism, economy, culture and social authority. The Club Commission creates the necessary terms for a maintenance and development of the club culture of Berlin. Creative Footprint – it is an initiative that measures and indexes urban creative space.”

Panels discussions highlighted the remainder of the conference day, with the first discussion being about Mumbai’s Creative Footprint

Panelists - Lutz Leichsenring (Club commission, Berlin), Sameep Padora (Principal Architect, sP+a), Varun Patra (Marketing Head, Homegrown),

Moderator – Ayaz Basrai (Co-Founder at The Busride Design Studio)

The panel discussed Mumbai’s Creative Footprint, which is an initiative that seeks to protect creative spaces and reserve artistic freedom through civic engagement. By measuring and indexing urban creative spaces, it makes for a matrix (comparison) of that city amongst the world’s global cities. Ideally, the information can be used as a means to help advocate for progressive regulations in that city. The index can also nurture a vibrant arts scene thus helping to save jobs as well as create a basis for overall social responsibility.

Mixing Magic: Beverage Trends in the Bar Business

Panelists - Ayushi Agnihotri (Marketing Manager, Anheuser – Busch InBev), Omkar Kalaskar (Trade Ambassador, Bacardi India), Jackson Rajan (Brand Manager, William Grant & Sons India), Lam Chi Mun (Director, Diageo Bar Academy Asia Pacific), Vineet Agarwal (Marketing Head India, Brown Forman)

Moderator – Aneesh Bhasin (Founder & CEO Hipcask)

A new trend is evolving in bartending and its practices, and there is a lot of opportunity to market such trends. The discussion dealt with how there is an increase in the demand of qualified bartenders, and how even a niche bartender at any club attracts public to the bar. Mumbai is opening up to academies of bartending, where professional bartenders are required and people are taking up the profession as a full-time career opportunity.

The next three panel discussions dealt with enhancing the content and attraction of a bar / nightclub, with topics ranging from:

Music Shaping Nightlife (What’s Brewing)

Panelists - Khodu Irani (Founder, High Spirits), Nihaar Kuthiala (Experiential Marketing Manger, Anheuser – Busch InBev), Arjun Sagar Gupta (Director, Udo Hospitality), Anu Anna George (Artist Manager, Mixtape)

Moderator – Vivek Dudani (Regional Programming Head – West, Social/Anti-Social)

Building Legendary Bars

Panelists - Faizan Khatri (Partner at Studio eight twentythree), Sumessh Menon (Architect, Sumessh Menon Asssociates), Hanif Kureshi (Artistic Director & Co-Founder – St+art India Foundation), Kapil Thirwan (Specialist Consultant – Audio, Acoustics, Studio Design, & Noise Mitigation), Saheba Singh (Director, This is it Designs Pvt. Ltd.), Yash Bhanage (Founder & COO, The Bombay Canteen)

Moderator – Ayaz Basrai (Co-founder at the Busride Design Studio)

Filling the Floor – Programming in India

Panelists - Priyank Sukhija (Owner, Lazeezaffaire), DJ Aqeel, Aayushman Sinha (Partner, On Stage Talents), Vishal Shetty (Director, White River Entertainment), Arjun Shah (Founder & Director, Shark & Ink)

Moderator – DJ Akhtar

The conference concluded with an interesting discussion on:

Setting the Manifesto for a Millennial Mumbai

Panelists - Amy Lamé (Night Czar, London), Milind Deora (Former Union Minister of State and MP), Kaustubh Dhavse (Joint Secretary and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Hon. Chief Minister), Mirik Milan (Night Mayor, Amsterdam), Riyaaz Amlani (President, NRAI)

Moderator – Vishal Dadlani (Music record Producer, composer)

The impact of nightlife has 3 aspects:

Impact on Economy – by creating more Jobs

Culture

Bringing people together

Mirik Milan, elaborated, “Nightlife of any city impacts directly on tourism. The culture of Amsterdam – evolved and grew with a high-quality nightlife. What’s important is to create a common vision – when you speak about change management – together the government and independent restaurant bodies can do wonders. In Amsterdam, it’s a record of 17 million tourists coming every year because of our safe nightlife and 7 million of that are the count of residents of Amsterdam. The industry can contribute to find solutions to the challenges faced by the government e.g. Volunteer groups to keep localities safe, light up streets, etc.”

Drawing context to the topic of Mumbai, Vishal Dadlani said, “Ganesh Visarjan is a great street carnival that can be leveraged to generate tourism.”

Kaustabh Dhavse added, “Mumbai has its own spirit, by keeping the bars open, it facilitates cultural activity as well – to which people of the city can corelate and enjoy the city in a much better way.”

NRAI announced that it is making a representation to the government and the Government is taking baby steps. “We have proposed to increase the night time on weekends for the next 6 months in non-resident areas. There will be a policy in order soon for Food Trucks in Mumbai too.”

Milind Deora: “Political clashes have failed Mumbai. Culture is not just heritage or language, it is also related to what you eat and speak and a free flow of creative ideas. Minor interventions of Government can really change the city.”

Amy Lamé: “Mumbai should have their Night Mayor, who will build bridges between the associations and government.”

INCA 2017 concluded with the Brotherhood of the Night Awards presented to all the National Winners under 29 categories followed by a post party at The Great Room of Four Seasons, Mumbai.