However, despite the interesting origin story, the gin hasn’t enthused Indians much so far.
Although India remains a brown spirits market, the availability of quality spirits by Indian producers, the rise of cocktail culture and the freedom to experiment with flavours, are driving demand for gin in India. In 2022 alone, gin demand grew 28 per cent year-on-year, driven mainly by the premium segment or gins priced at Rs 1,000 or more for a 750 ml bottle.
According to a report published by Allied Market Research, India’s gin market size stood at $914.7 million in 2020, and is estimated to reach $1,598.2 million by 2030.
Vinod Giri, director general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), told The Print that gin has been part of the overall wine portfolio in India for over a hundred years.
“However, despite history and visibility, it remains marginalized in terms of size. One reason for this may be that while most other categories developed, gin remained limited to daytime use and serving with flavor-oriented mixers such as tonic water, lemonade, lemon cordial, etc. This category also saw little innovation and has stagnated over time,” he said.
Data shared by CBIC shows that the premium gin segment is set to register an annual growth of 82 per cent in 2020, 158 per cent in 2021 and 200 per cent in 2022. “This has led to a great premiumization of the category. The segment which had a share of about 5 per cent of the category four years back has grown to about one-fourth of the category by volume. Value wise it will definitely be very high,” said Giri.
This ‘gin-surgeon’ is being led by a new generation of more “adventurous and eager to experiment” consumers.
“The trajectory of gin in India has been nothing short of impressive, especially given the traditional dominance of brown spirits in the market. Amar Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, Radico Khaitan Ltd, makers of ‘Indian Craft Gin’ Jaisalmer and ‘Single Malt Whisky’ Rampur, said, “In recent years, there has been a significant change in consumer preferences, with a growing shift towards white spirits like gin.”
According to Sinha, a number of factors have contributed to the growth of the gin industry in India, including rapid urbanisation, consequential lifestyle changes and increase in disposable income. He pointed out that with higher purchasing power, consumers are looking for a refined and advanced drinking experience, which has led to a rise in the popularity of gin.
Poonam Chandel, managing director, Newworld Spirits, told ThePrint that India’s gin market is growing.
“It has not reached its potential yet, but going by consumer preferences, the segment is set to grow at least 7-8 per cent year-on-year. Over the years, Indian consumers have moved beyond considering gin as an afternoon drink, or simply turning to the G&T (gin and tonic). They are experimenting with gin-based cocktails,” she said.
Newworld Spirits is all set to enter the gin segment later this year.
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‘No two gins will ever taste the same’
The rise of cocktail culture has also served as a catalyst for the growth of the Indian gin market.
Cocktail enthusiasts and mixologists are discovering and creating innovative and diverse cocktails that include gin as a preferred base spirit because of its versatility and ability to complement a wide range of flavors, said Sinha.
With a wide range of botanicals and flavors available, gin provides a canvas for both consumers and distillers to experiment and create unique and distinctive products. This has also led to the arrival of new Indian commodities in the market, which is further increasing the demand.
India is witnessing the launch of a new gin every 15-20 days as brands – both startups and established – are trying to capitalize on the excitement in the sector, said Anjali Batra, co-founder of Food Talk India, the agency behind Gin Explorers Club, a festival dedicated to gin-based drinks held in various cities across the country.
Batra said that while large players have a presence in the gin segment, the sector is also witnessing the entry of startups, many of whom are first time distillers in the spirits industry. These include Stranger and Sons, Greater Than, Samsara and Tiger. On the other hand, you have Terai from Jaisalmer and Globus Spirits from Radico Khaitan.
According to industry insiders, it is very easy to make, which is why gin is a favorite area for new brands to enter.
Batra explained: “You buy a grain spirit or neutral spirit and distill it with vanaspati. Juniper is the primary ingredient and then you can add any botanicals you want. This is also one of my favorite things about this range that no two gins in the world will ever taste the same because they contain a blend of botanicals. There is a lot of variety, spiced gins, smoky gins, floral gins, colored gins or a mixture of the two categories of gins. It gives people a myriad of opportunities to experiment.”
In 2017, the Gin Explorers Club held its first festival in India which saw participation from a few hundred people. By the time of the second edition in 2019, this number had grown to around 2,000.
“Now, eight editions later, we have about 15,000 people in each city where we have our festival who buy tickets and come and drink gin with us. We feature at least 15 gins in each edition and most of them are Indian. So not only the consumer, but also the brands are on the rise,” said Batra.
He said that every 15-20 days a new gin comes out. “It’s a vibrant and exciting time for commodities.”
Batra also said that India has many wonderful tastes, giving people more options to experiment. Radico Khaitan’s Jaisalmer, which sees a “phenomenal growth” in sales by 400 per cent in 2022 as compared to last year, is infused with 11 botanicals including lemongrass, coriander, angelica root, vetiver and licorice. Seven of these have been obtained from India.
“A lot of the Indian brands that you hear about, whether it is Stranger & Sons or Hapusa – I just heard about a new brand that is coming out called Chambal Gin – they are all playing with Indian ingredients and celebrating their homegrown flavor culture,” Batra said.
Chandel agreed. According to him, while whiskey will continue to be India’s top alco-bev [alcoholic beverage]She sees Jin making inroads in the younger generation.
gin drinkers
Batra believes that the younger generation is giving more preference to gin than other popular white spirits like vodka, because “gin is like someone has given vodka a personality” – which appeals to today’s generation.
Sinha said gin finds a particular resonance among adults in their mid-20s to mid-40s living in vibrant urban areas. He says, “Distinguished by its premium positioning, gin holds a magnetic attraction for consumers with high disposable income, who are keen to enjoy the extraordinary and elevated experience that gin promises to deliver.”
Answering a question, he said that though the exact number of gin manufacturing companies in India is not clearly stated, around seven to eight well-known brands have firmly established their presence in this sector.
Indian commodity sales in the premium category to grow by 78 per cent in 2020, 84 per cent in 2021 and 109 per cent in 2022. In contrast, sales of imported commodities are set to increase by 5 percent in 2020, 42 percent in 2021, and 90 percent in 2022. According to Giri, “Indian gin accounted for just over a quarter of the premium segment four years ago, but has now grown to over 40%. Percent. The share of imported gin has fallen from 74 percent to 59 percent in just four years.
However, he added that this growth is not coming at the expense of other leading white spirits such as vodka, which have maintained the growth momentum in India as well and on a much larger base.
“In vodka too, we are seeing signs of premiumisation, with the premium segment growing at twice the pace of the mainstream/value segment. Vodka as a category sees growth of 22 percent in 2021 and 35 percent in 2022; This was driven by growth in the premium vodka segment, which is set to grow by 57 per cent in 2021 and 73 per cent in 2022,” he says.
Sinha says the absence of Indian innovation in the premiumisation of the category reflects the declining share of Indian brands in the premium segment.
“Vodka in India needs a gin-like quality movement,” he says, adding that in vodka, the share of Indian players in the premium segment has dropped from 20 per cent in 2019 to 14 per cent in 2022, while the share of non-Indian players has increased from 80 per cent to 86 per cent.
(Editing by Amritansh Arora)
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