Drinking practices varysubstantially among different countries and different masses. But bothalcoholic beverages are very popular among all ages of people. The alcoholicdrinks market is broadly classified into five classes, starting from beers,wines, hard liquors, liqueurs and others. The Indian alcoholic market has beengrowing rapidly for the last ten years, due to the positive impact ofdemographic trends and expected changes like rising income levels, changing ageprofile, changing lifestyles and reduction in beverages prices. Beer and wineare perhaps the oldest and most popular of all alcoholic beverages in theworld.
The Indian beer Industryhas been witnessing a steady growth rate of 7-9 per cent per year for the lastten years. Apart from Kingfisher and Foster’s Beer, the other brands in theIndian 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 onthe global map. The market is growing at a rate of up to 25% per annum eachyear. With a population base of over 1.1 Billion, the consumption of wine isextremely low, indicating vast potential for future growth. Champagne Indagehas been the pioneer in making French style wine in India. Grover Vineyards andSula Vineyards too have made smart strides in a short time span. Recently,companies in the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) space like Diageo, UnitedBreweries and Seagrams too have ventured into making wine. Other majors playersin this field are United Spirits Ltd, Mohan Breweries & Distilleries Ltd,Jagatjit Industries Ltd, Empee Distilleries Ltd. Radico Khaitan Ltd. etc. toname a few.