Date : October 14, 2022
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The increasing domestic production is hastening the growth of the Indian whisky market: Bonafide Research.

The increasing domestic production is hastening the growth of the Indian whisky market: Bonafide Research.

India has been moving from strength to strength throughout the last decade with an energised industry full of quality home-grown brands such as Paul John, Amrut, and Rampur. It started back in 2004, when Amrut launched their own single malt, and it took a couple of years for them to establish, but in 2010, they won the third best whiskey brand in the world. Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD) launched Sterling, a premium range of whisky with successful sales in India.

Nearly one in every two bottles of whisky bought around the world is now sold in India, and seven of the top 10 global whisky brands are Indian. Attempts are also being made to create a buzz around the use of whisky in cocktails, which will make the category more relevant not just to a younger drinker but also to the female market. The next generation of high-end Indian-made malts are already showing that they are of a sufficient standard to capture an audience in Western markets.
The Indian single malt whisky brands are coming of age and seem to be giving tough competition to their Scottish ancestors. These indigenous single malt whisky brands now account for over a third of the market. Most consumers are loyal customers to their brands, but when it comes to single malt, they want to experiment with taste. The newfound potential of made-in-India brands has forced global liquor giants to tweak their strategy in India. It is expected that there will be strong growth in future years for single malts for both domestic and imported whisky in India. Diageo India invests INR 45 Crore in its state-of-the-art Craft and Innovation Hub in Ponda, Goa, to meet various requirements such as distillation capabilities for malt, gin, and rum; maturation infrastructure; and spirits blending capability.The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) data shows that homegrown single-malt sales have surged by more than 40 percent annually over the past three years, compared with just 7 percent for imported rivals.

According to the report ‘India Whisky Market Outlook, 2027-28’ published by Bonafide Research, the Indian Whisky market has witnessed a growth rate of more than 9.46% during the period 2016-17 to 2021-22. Whisky is generally segmented into prestige, premium and super premium segments, from which the most consumed segment is the prestige segment, which accounts for more than half of total consumption of whisky in India. These dynamics of the Indian market are expected to change in the near future. India is observing tremendous economic growth, which results in the increasing purchasing power of Indian consumers. The Indian whisky market is forecasted to consume more than 280 million cases of whisky by 2027–28. The consumption of blended whisky is forecasted to decrease compared to other types.

People switching from country liquor to branded products is a good sign for Indian companies. It is observed that people still lack brand awareness in many regions, which is a two-edged sword for many companies. Some could take advantage of the situation by focusing on increasing brand visibility, while for some it is a loss as someone else is eating their pie. The Indian firms should definitely target the nation’s wealth for which India is so famous, i.e., the younger generation. India is considered to be a young country compared to others owing to the large number of youths in its workforce. Focusing on them and attracting them would definitely provide competitive advantages to firms.

As most of the whisky produced in India is categorised under IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor), which is mostly molasses based and carries only 10 to 15 % malt whisky, they cannot be tagged as whisky and sold in the European market. The good thing for the Indian consumer is the rising popularity of imported and single malt whisky, which are definitely real forms of whisky and are found to be of better quality. This is the result of economic development in India, which increased the purchasing power of Indian consumers, a good portion of which is spent on such alcoholic beverages.

Companies: Pernod Ricard India Private limited, United Spirit Limited (Diageo Group, Radico khaitan Limited, Allied Blenders and Distillers Private Limited, Jagatjit Industries Limited, John Distilleries Private Limited, Tilaknagar Industries Limited, Amrut Distilleries Private Limited, SOM Distilleries and Breweries Limited, Bacardi India Private Limited


 

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The increasing domestic production is hastening the growth of the Indian whisky market: Bonafide Research.

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