Thanks to an acceleration of liquor consumption trend over recent years, the Indian market is now flooded with an array of imported and domestic liquor brands, helping evolve the Indian consumers’ relatively recent affinity for wine, fine spirits and value-added beers. The liquor market has been registering healthy growth year-on-year in the country. According to Euromonitor International`s report “Alcoholic drinks in India”, alcoholic drinks` (beer, wine and spirits) market size has been growing considerably – from 1,781.8 million litres in 2004 to 2,262.6 million litres in 2006, 2,927 million litres in 2008 to the current market size of 3,276.6 million litres. The liquor market has grown by 84 per cent – approximately 1,495 million litres – between 2004 to 2009.
Going by the prevalent market scenario, Aspri Spirits Private Limited, one of the leading importers and distributors of premium international wines and spirits, brought to the Indian consumers some of the finest brands in the world of wines, beer and spirits such as Amarula Fruit Cream and Nederburg wines from South Africa, Roberto Cavalli Vodka from Italy, Kilkenny, an Irish cream ale and many more. Analysing the market trend , Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO, wine division, Aspri Spirits Pvt Ltd speaks to Juhi Sharma at Imagesfood.com.
ImagesFood (IF): According to you, what`s the status of liquor industry in India?
Sumedh Singh Mandla (SSM): The liquor industry in India is fragmented and divided into various categories — imported liquor, domestic liquor, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and country liquor. Most of the categories are estimated to be growing at over 20 per cent in key cities across the country.
IF: Out of wines, beers and spirits, which liquor category has been growing at a better pace and by how much?
SSM: In the overall liquor industry, wines and beers have grown at a higher clip over the last few years; wine is estimated to have grown by around 25 per cent YoY and within spirits, the white spirits sub-category, vodka and tequila specifically have shown a better growth than the others.
IF:Typically the last two quarters of a financial year are considered to be the revenue generators for liquor brands in India. Please elaborate on the importance of the particular season for liquor industry and how much of incremental revenue on an average (in percentage) is added during this particular season to your overall revenue pie?
SSM: The period from October to February is clearly the best period for liquor sales in India. Various factors contribute to this uptick, but festivals such as Diwali and Christmas coinciding with a peak tourism season across India are the two key contributors for higher overall liquor consumption.
Months from November to January generally contribute over 40 per cent of annual sales for us. However, the same period last year was very slow due to the terror attacks and the global economic slowdown.
IF: What is the importance of packaging innovation and value-addition introduced by a lot of liquor brands during the festive season?
SSM: Attractive packaging has been a key aspect of compulsive and general buying for consumers and liquor is no exception to the rule. We Indians always look for better value for each purchase, therefore special gift packs always help by adding more value and creating increased demand.
IF: According to you what are the expected trends in respect with liquor consumption in future. Any expectations for any particular liquor category to witness more consumption than others?
SSM: I personally believe in wine as a future beverage for India, as there are health benefits associated with drinking wine, thereby drawing in an increasing number of consumers opting for healthy lifestyles. At this point of time, the wine segment in size is certainly miniscule as compared to spirits and beers, but there lies a huge potential in the times to come.
IF: Please tell us about the largest selling liquor brand in your portfolio.
SSM:Currently Don Angel Tequila in our portfolio is the largest selling single label that we import exclusively in India.
Going by the prevalent market scenario, Aspri Spirits Private Limited, one of the leading importers and distributors of premium international wines and spirits, brought to the Indian consumers some of the finest brands in the world of wines, beer and spirits such as Amarula Fruit Cream and Nederburg wines from South Africa, Roberto Cavalli Vodka from Italy, Kilkenny, an Irish cream ale and many more. Analysing the market trend , Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO, wine division, Aspri Spirits Pvt Ltd speaks to Juhi Sharma at Imagesfood.com.
ImagesFood (IF): According to you, what`s the status of liquor industry in India?
Sumedh Singh Mandla (SSM): The liquor industry in India is fragmented and divided into various categories — imported liquor, domestic liquor, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and country liquor. Most of the categories are estimated to be growing at over 20 per cent in key cities across the country.
IF: Out of wines, beers and spirits, which liquor category has been growing at a better pace and by how much?
SSM: In the overall liquor industry, wines and beers have grown at a higher clip over the last few years; wine is estimated to have grown by around 25 per cent YoY and within spirits, the white spirits sub-category, vodka and tequila specifically have shown a better growth than the others.
IF:Typically the last two quarters of a financial year are considered to be the revenue generators for liquor brands in India. Please elaborate on the importance of the particular season for liquor industry and how much of incremental revenue on an average (in percentage) is added during this particular season to your overall revenue pie?
SSM: The period from October to February is clearly the best period for liquor sales in India. Various factors contribute to this uptick, but festivals such as Diwali and Christmas coinciding with a peak tourism season across India are the two key contributors for higher overall liquor consumption.
Months from November to January generally contribute over 40 per cent of annual sales for us. However, the same period last year was very slow due to the terror attacks and the global economic slowdown.
IF: What is the importance of packaging innovation and value-addition introduced by a lot of liquor brands during the festive season?
SSM: Attractive packaging has been a key aspect of compulsive and general buying for consumers and liquor is no exception to the rule. We Indians always look for better value for each purchase, therefore special gift packs always help by adding more value and creating increased demand.
IF: According to you what are the expected trends in respect with liquor consumption in future. Any expectations for any particular liquor category to witness more consumption than others?
SSM: I personally believe in wine as a future beverage for India, as there are health benefits associated with drinking wine, thereby drawing in an increasing number of consumers opting for healthy lifestyles. At this point of time, the wine segment in size is certainly miniscule as compared to spirits and beers, but there lies a huge potential in the times to come.
IF: Please tell us about the largest selling liquor brand in your portfolio.
SSM:Currently Don Angel Tequila in our portfolio is the largest selling single label that we import exclusively in India.
Source:ImangesFood
