A recent NielsenIQ study revealed exclusively to ET finds 24% of Indian shoppers polled consume no or low alcohol options vs a global average of 17%. Of the 24%, more than half fall into the Gen Z and millennials age groups. India ranks as the second-biggest market for such virgin drinks in the Asia-Pacific behind the Philippines.
The research further bifurcates the trend of alcohol consumption in the country. It indicates that nearly 54% of the northern consumers adore alcohol preceded by 50% in the eastern, 43% in the western, and 37% in the southern regions. The remaining either have a love-hate attitude or abstain from alcohol altogether.
India’s biggest brewery, United Breweries’ chief marketing officer Vikram Bahl said there was increasingly a demand coming from health-aware millennials, professionals and urban consumers for moderation and inclusivity. In its annual report, the company said it is changing to address the demand in metros while not diluting the experience of the traditional beer.
Ruchira Jaitley, Diageo India’s chief marketing officer, explained Gen Z is not drinking less per se but adhering to the Zebra striping habit where one alcoholic beverage is followed by a non-alcoholic drink. “And they are consuming more cocktails, and premium. So, value wise they are not drinking less yet,” she added.
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A Metro Phenomenon
She, however, said the company is watching this space and has invested in Sober, a non-alcoholic spirits brand. It holds 15% in Sober’s parent company, V9 Beverages.
The NielsenIQ study reveals 53% of no/low drinkers in India are of drinking age, the optimal age being 34 years. Sober curious, driven by Gen Z, includes 35% of the consumers aged 35-54 and 13% are 55-plus years.
Aditya Agarwal, co-founder of Sober, attributes the fastest-growing category to be non-alcoholic whiskey although they retail gin, rum and vodka. No surprises there, given that the largest consumed liquor in India is whiskey and it contributes to nearly two-thirds of the total market.
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When Alcohol Isn’t Alcohol at All
Social commentator Santosh Desai feels it’s a tempting notion combining the entire concept of alcohol and the high, enjoyment, social facilitation it provides, with the fact that it’s not alcohol at all, and doesn’t hurt. As it is, of course, the non-alcoholic beverage market is yet to match up to its more metros-only status. The overall alcobev industry size of India is pegged at $42 billion for 2025.
Ishan Arora, the founder of zero alcobev startup Catwalk Botanicals, puts the size of the market for non-alcoholic beverages at a percentage point of the premium alcobev market, which itself is 8-9% of the overall market.
Shashwat Goenka, vice chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group that operates the Spencer’s Retail chain that also distributes alcohol, in a recent social media update stated that consuming alcohol is no longer the social currency and while millennials consumed alcohol to belong, Gen Z consumes alcohol to stand out or doesn’t consume it at all.
Virgin Cocktails Take Center Stage
Goa, Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR bars are getting a lineup of virgin cocktails courtesy these organizations. The times when the virgin drinks were listed at the rear of the menu, sad and with limited choice such as colas, fresh lime soda or a Virgin Mojito, at best are now over.
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