How to win in India’s beverage alcohol market

As challenges persist in the global beverage alcohol market, the role of India as the planet’s most formidable growth engine has become even more vital – but what does it take to achieve success in this huge but enormously complex market?

Total beverage alcohol (TBA) volumes in India expanded at a CAGR of +3% between 2019 and 2024, capped by a +6% gain in 2024 and a projected +4% increase in 2025, according to IWSR data. Growth is expected to continue in the years ahead, with volumes predicted to rise at a CAGR of +3% between 2024 and 2034.

This growth spans all categories, with spirits, wine and beer all expected to record CAGR expansion of +3% to +4% over the next decade. Gains for RTDs are projected to be stronger still, with CAGR increases of +6% to 2034.

In volume terms beer is the largest category, but looking from a perspective of serves, whisky accounts for more than half of servings.

Domestic products dominate the spirits and beer categories, but imports are gaining ground. Imported spirits volumes grew at a CAGR of +16% between 2019 and 2024, with a projected +9% gain in 2025. IWSR projections show a +8% CAGR gain between 2024 and 2029, and a +6% CAGR to 2034. Beer imports are pursuing a similarly impressive trajectory.

“India leads TBA expansion in developing markets thanks to such factors as socialising, ongoing premiumisation, improvements in retailing and new product development, with 15-20 million new legal-drinking-age (LDA) consumers per year providing an expanding audience in what remains a dark market,” says Jason Holway, Senior Research Consultant at IWSR. “Spirits and RTDs saw continued growth in early 2025, with beer also posting steady volume gains. Wine’s performance is mixed: sparkling has grown a little, but still wine hasn’t yet broken out of its modest decline.”

What are the main challenges?

With a legal drinking age population fast approaching 1 billion potential consumers, there’s no doubting the scale of India’s potential, but this vast country is extremely nuanced, with state-level variations in taxation, regulation, distribution and retail. Alcohol is one of the most important generators of revenue for state authorities.