India: Rising popularity of domestic whisky gives strong competition to imported rivals

Rising preference for domestic single malts amongst Indians has been able to give strong competition to its rivals from Scotland, reported Times of India.

In 2022, the sales of Indian malts shot up 2.4 times to 2,81,000 cases, while Scotch (single malt) sales rose 35 per cent to 2,96,000 cases, according to industry data accessed by TOI.

With income levels on the rise, Indians are now willing to spend more on alcohol which has lead to a rise in the demand for malt whiskies.

India’s brand 'Amrut' tops the list of sales followed by Paul John. Among the Indian malts, Solan Gold sold 20,000 cases, while Rampur was at around 10,000 cases.

"Indian players are now making exceptionally good single malt whiskies, which are comparable to all others. Within India itself, we are able to produce good standards and are reasonably priced. We are trying to cater to demand globally. Things might change (for us) going forward due to free trade agreements," said Rakshit Neelkant, managing director of Amrut to TOI.

The drastic change can be observed as domestic brands were able to leave the foreign brand, Glenlivet behind.

In 2022, Singleton sales were approximately 22,000 cases while Talisker sold around 14,000 cases.

"As of now there are about eight-nine distilleries with their own single malt whisky brands. This number is growing which brings one to the matter of ensuring quality and consistency, a must for a global brand. CIABC is working with the domestic industry and government agencies to evolve product and process standards that ensure product quality uniformly and consistently for Indian malt whiskies," said Vinod Giri, director general of lobby group Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC).

The overall whisky market in India is pegged at 242 million cases, which is around two-thirds of the overall spirits market.

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