Suntory donates $600,000 to Covid-19 relief in India

Beam Suntory and parent company Suntory Holdings have pledged US$600,000 to organisations supporting Covid-19 relief in India.

The companies are focused on increasing access to medical care in the hardest-hit areas, and supporting affected on-trade partners.

The US$600,000 will support British Asian Trust, which works to deliver oxygen concentrators to hospitals, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which is undertaking extensive relief operations across India. It also extends to the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) as well as government-led relief efforts.

Albert Baladi, president and CEO of Beam Suntory, said: “The pandemic has been a tragedy globally, but the current situation in India has hit close to home for us as it has impacted many of our team members, their families, and communities.” 

Beam Suntory operates a commercial business in India, with a head office in Gurgaon, and has more than 300 full-time employees nationwide. The company aims to build a US$1 billion business in India by 2030. 

Tak Niinami, CEO of Suntory Holdings, said: “We are proud to support hard-hit communities as the country confronts the alarming surge in coronavirus cases.” 

Beam Suntory has donated to various Covid-19 relief efforts globally, including a €100,000 (US$121,388) donation to the German Red Cross, and €200,000 (US$242,677) to hospitals and nursing homes in Spain. 

The company has also pledged more than US$3 million to support restaurant and bar workers and their families, and produced sanitiser sufficient to clean more than 50m pairs of hands. 

Suntory reported annual revenue of US$20.4bn in 2020.