Drinking practices vary substantially among different countries and different masses. But both alcoholic beverages are very popular among all ages of people. The alcoholic drinks market is broadly classified into five classes, starting from beers, wines, hard liquors, liqueurs and others. The Indian alcoholic market has been growing rapidly for the last ten years, due to the positive impact of demographic trends and expected changes like rising income levels, changing age profile, changing lifestyles and reduction in beverages prices. Beer and wine are perhaps the oldest and most popular of all alcoholic beverages in the world.
The Indian beer Industry has been witnessing a steady growth rate of 7-9 per cent per year for the last ten years. Apart from Kingfisher and Foster’s Beer, the other brands in the Indian market are Carling Black Label, Carlsberg, Dansberg, Golden Eagle, Haywards 5000,Premium Lager, Kingfisher Strong, Hi-Five etc. to name a few. India has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for wine consumption on the global map. The market is growing at a rate of up to 25% per annum each year. With a population base of over 1.1 Billion, the consumption of wine is extremely low, indicating vast potential for future growth. Champagne Indage has been the pioneer in making French style wine in India. Grover Vineyards and Sula Vineyards too have made smart strides in a short time span. Recently, companies in the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) space like Diageo, United Breweries and Seagrams too have ventured into making wine. Other majors players in this field are United Spirits Ltd, Mohan Breweries & Distilleries Ltd, Jagatjit Industries Ltd, Empee Distilleries Ltd. Radico Khaitan Ltd. etc. to name a few.
India presents a huge growth potential for alcoholic beverages sales. The domestic production of beer and wine is on the rise, especially beer with official statistics reporting a 12 per cent increase in domestic beer production. Increasing GDP, favourable growth in the demographics with a growing urban middle class, growth of modern retail formats, hopeful rationalization of the taxation rules and ban on local country liquor and rising health consciousness, age preferences will act in favour of the growth of alcoholic (beer and wine) beverages in India in the near future.
