Speaking to a packed room at the Drinks Association’s network breakfast on Tuesday, 24 March, Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, CEO & Managing Director of LION, shared her reflections on LION’s transformation over the past five years. She also outlined the challenges and opportunities she sees ahead for the broader industry.
Anubha joined LION as CMO in 2021, was subsequently appointed Chief Growth Officer, and in October 2025 became CEO & Managing Director. Before LION, she spent more than 15 years at The Coca-Cola Company across Asia Pacific and served as CMO at Mars Wrigley in China before leading the Mars Global Chocolate business out of Chicago. She also sits on the board of DrinkWise as a non-executive director.
LION's transformation journey
Anubha described the position LION found itself in coming out of COVID with revenue declining faster than the category, brands losing relevance and market share, and low employee engagement. The response was a long-term transformation program the company calls a "once-in-a-generation" undertaking, grounded in three areas of focus.
The first was active listening to the consumer, rebuilding genuine consumer empathy through more forward-looking, ethnographic-style insight work, not just backward-looking data.
The second was building the right internal culture, bringing in diverse perspectives and deeper specialist capabilities, and leaning into LION’s identity as a challenger brand.
The third was a willingness to adapt, recognising that staying relevant requires innovation not just in product but in business models, customer relationships and routes to market.
The changing Australian consumer
Anubha challenged the industry to better understand the shifting demographic composition of Australia, particularly the growing influence of Indian and Chinese consumers in the 18-to-35 cohort. She pushed back on the idea that these consumers are turning away from alcohol.
"They absolutely drink… but they need to be invited into the conversation and into the choices we provide." At the same time, she noted that the core motivations for drinking – connection, celebration, socialisation – have remained consistent across cultures and generations.
Closing the gap with FMCG
Anubha used global FMCG as a benchmark for strategic capability, pointing to areas where the drinks industry still has ground to make up: access to shared market data, occasion-based marketing and precision across the supply chain. She cited Coca-Cola, Walmart, Nestlé and Mars as companies that have consistently managed to stay commercially strong and culturally relevant over decades, while acknowledging the unique complexities of the drinks sector.
She also acknowledged the significant work already happening collectively across the industry through the Drinks Association, DrinkWise and international advocacy efforts, and noted Australia's leadership in areas of responsible drinking and self-regulation.
Leadership capabilities for the future
Closing her presentation, Anubha identified four leadership capabilities she believes the industry needs to prioritise: sense-making in conditions of uncertainty, adaptability as an organisational muscle, a genuine commitment to inclusion and courage to make decisions in the face of structural, not just cyclical, headwinds.
"I see no reason why our industry isn't going to be extraordinarily successful," she said. "We have an amazing opportunity."