She quit Adidas and LA and six-figures for the beer Indian food deserves
Meet the founder behind the chic new alcohol-free beer popping up at London’s coolest restaurants – Oudh 1722, Pahli Hill Bandra Bhai, the Royal Albert Hall, East West Pizza, Aspen & Meursault and The Latimer – with more listings coming in every week.
When Gunikka Ahuja told her brother she was thinking about quitting her six-figure job at Adidas to start a beer company, his response was simple: “Our food deserves better.”
That conversation would become the spark behind Bunta, the UK’s first non-alcoholic Indian craft beer, created specifically to pair with Indian food. Less gassy than Indian beers that are on the market today, and rigorously tested to enjoy alongside spicy dishes, Bunta light & refreshing, with subtle citrus notes from orange peel and a hint of coriander seed. The coriander and citrus elements also mirror flavour compounds commonly found in Indian cooking.
Born and raised in New Delhi, Ahuja moved to Los Angeles at 17 to study Textile Technology before building a successful career as a Textile Innovation Manager at Adidas. But frequent trips to London to visit her brother exposed her to a distinctly British ritual: curry and a pint.
There was just one problem.
“The food had evolved, but the beer hadn’t,” says Ahuja. “Whether I was eating at traditional curry houses on Brick Lane or newer restaurants pushing Indian cuisine forward, I kept finding the same experience. The beers were harsh, overly bitter, heavy and gassy. Before I’d even started eating, I’d switched to a soft drink.”
At the same time, Britain was undergoing a drinking revolution. The rise of the sober-curious movement meant consumers were demanding more sophisticated alcohol-free options, while a new generation of chefs was redefining Indian cuisine in the UK.
Ahuja saw an opportunity to bring those worlds together.
For someone who grew up in a household where food was central to family life, that disconnect was impossible to ignore.
“In my family, food wasn’t just about eating – it was ritual. Sunday biryanis, big family gatherings, hosting friends and relatives. Food was how we connected. Beer was always on the table too, even though my parents rarely drank. That contrast stayed with me: food felt deeply cultural, while beer was simply a default.”
Today, Ahuja lives in London, having walked away from a $100,000-a-year career in Los Angeles to build a business around a simple idea: if Indian food has evolved, the beer served alongside it should too, as well as Ahuja’s vision of modern Indian identity: being culturally rooted yet with a global vision.
And it is clear that Ahuja got it right. Since launching in 2025, Bunta Beer is now served in 40 restaurants across the UK, has already launched on draught, and now there is a flourishing Bunta Beer DTC website too. Her social media presence has proven to be a key sales driver for the brand as drinks buyers contact her directly on instagram and tik tok.
Ahuja concludes,“We’re just getting started. There’s a new wave of chefs pushing things forward – which is exactly why drinks need to catch up.”
