As we approach International Women’s Day 2025, we are reminded of the importance of accelerating action for gender equality. The global theme for this year, ‘Accelerate Action,’ challenges us to take decisive and swift steps toward achieving gender parity, which, at the current rate of progress, will not be reached until 2158. This year, we’re celebrating the exceptional women in the liquor industry who are not just breaking barriers but also demonstrate what it means to not only challenge the status quo but to forge new paths forward for others to follow.
Through this special edition of National Liquor News Leaders, we are focusing on women who are shaping the future of the liquor industry. Their leadership and vision have not only contributed to their personal success but have also opened doors for the next generation of women to thrive in the industry.
Here we speak with Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, Chief Growth and Commercial Officer and James Brindley, Managing Director – who are the co-leaders of Lion Australia.
Like most of the drinks industry, Lion felt the impact of global inflationary pressures, increasing alcohol tax and challenging market conditions in 2024. These factors put huge pressure on category performance, but despite this, the business continued its transformation and growth.
James Brindley, who returned to Lion Australia as Managing Director and co-leader in May last year after a two-year hiatus, told National Liquor News: “Beer remains a core strength and an important force in the alcohol market. We’re dedicated to the beer category and investing in our iconic brands to elevate them further.
“At the same time, the RTD and spirits categories are key growth areas for Lion, and we’re building the capabilities to become a respected challenger in these segments.”
Meeting consumer needs
Last year, Lion created a set of category growth drivers that identified opportunities for category growth into the future, says Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, Chief Growth and Commercial Officer and co-leader of Lion Australia, leading the business to invest in its core brands and embrace innovation.
“One of the drivers of category growth was mindful choices – consumers were telling us they wanted to enjoy beer but with less of the guilt around carbs, calories and alcohol.”
Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, Chief Growth and Commercial Officer, and co-leader of Lion Australia
“From this insight, we developed our zero-carb range of Ultra beers across XXXX, Tooheys, Hahn and Byron Bay Brewery and have seen success in the initial results.
“Further to this, we continued to premiumise the beer category, with Stone & Wood continuing to experience strong national growth, Guinness in phenomenal growth globally and in Australia, and Kirin Ichiban moving to be a top 10 international brand in Australia, growing second-fastest only behind Guinness in this segment.”
Not only has the launch of the Ultra beer range shown promising results and successfully recruited consumers back into beer, Lion also saw rapid growth in Australia’s highly competitive RTD market.
“We’ve been able to give our customers what they want, when they want, so they can meet the needs of their consumers, including bringing authentic Japanese flavours to Australians via our new RTD, Kirin Hyoketsu,” Brindley added.
“We have had a strong focus on improving execution with our customers, which is reflected in Lion achieving an advantage survey score of number two in the market, up from six, and number one in the on-premise, and winning Supplier of the Year at the Coles, Independent Liquor Group and Star Liquor Group awards. It has been a true team effort, with every member of the Lion team pulling together to get us to where we want to be – and we’re hungry to improve further in 2025.”
Looking ahead, Lion has clear and confident plans to win Australia in the next 12 months, says Brindley.
“Whether it’s growing our brands, partnering with customers, strengthening our operations, developing talent, or advancing our Force for Good agenda, we will continue to drive Lion’s transformation. We’re excited to see where the year takes us,” he said.
“We’re focused on starting the year with the momentum that we finished with in 2024 – off the back of strong share performance and growth in beer, RTDs and spirits, and some great recognition from our customers that we’re on the right track.”
Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, Chief Growth and Commercial Officer, and co-leader of Lion Australia
This article originally appeared in the 2025 Industry Leaders Forum edition of National Liquor News.