A Cheery Outlook for Liquor Sales as India Drinks More Premium Spirits
- Radico Khaitan’s MD sees ongoing shift toward premium products
- India alcohol market among world’s most attractive: analyst
Photographer: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
The rising affluence of India’s middle class will drive growth of as much as 10 percent a year in the $33 billion spirits market, according to one of the nation’s oldest distillers.
After three years of stagnation when the industry faced sales restrictions, Indians are drinking more and spending on premium alcohol, said Abhishek Khaitan, the managing director of Radico Khaitan Ltd., a market leader in vodka with its Magic Moments brand. The trend will likely continue as urban dual-income families in the nation of 1.3 billion follow peers in the U.S. and Singapore when it comes to eating and drinking out, he said.