How India’s ₹5 Lakh Crore Alcohol Industry Works | 8X Bigger than Bollywood and Jewellery

India’s alcohol beverage industry is worth around ₹5 lakh crore, and spirits make up roughly three-fourths of the market. But building a successful alcohol brand in India involves much more than making a good drink.

00:00 Introduction
01:21 How Big Is India’s Alcobev Industry?
02:13 Why Spirits Dominate India
04:00 The Alcobev Ecosystem & Jobs
07:00 India vs Global Alcohol Markets
10:00 How the Indian Whisky Market Has Changed
14:00 Premiumisation & Changing Consumer Preferences
18:00 Building Premium Indian Alcohol Brands
24:54 How Radico Kaitan Built Categories
27:46 Are Alcohol Companies Profitable?
29:05 What Does It Take to Launch an Alcohol Brand?
35:00 Building a Brand Beyond a Great Product
40:00 Distribution, Retail & Getting on Shelves
45:00 Why Every Indian State Is a Different Market
50:00 Regulation, Excise & Government Control
55:00 How Alcohol Brands Scale Across India
1:00:00 Indian Whisky vs International Brands
1:10:00 The Future of Premium Indian Spirits
1:18:29 Ankur’s Favourite Spirits
1:21:52 Final Thoughts

Ankur Sachdeva has spent around 25 years in the Alcobev industry, with stints at ‪@WilliamGrantandSons‬  ‪@radicokhaitanltd.8115‬ 
, the @Kajaria Group and ‪@alliedblendersdistillers‬. He was also involved in bringing ‪@Glenfiddich‬  and ‪@TheBalvenieWhisky‬ to India, and today is building premium Indian whisky brands of his own.

In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, Jerome Manuel sits down with Ankur Sachdeva, Co-founder & CEO of Uppal Brewers and Disti to understand an industry that most people consume, but few understand as a business.

They start with the scale of the Indian market. Ankur explains why India's alcohol industry looks very different from global markets, where beer is the largest category, while spirits dominate India and account for around three-fourths of the market.

The conversation then moves into the rise of premium Indian spirits. Ankur discusses brands such as 8PM, Magic Moments, Jaisalmer, Rampur, Indri and Royal Ranthambore, and how Indian companies have identified gaps in the market and built brands around them.
But a good product is only the beginning.

Ankur explains what it actually takes to launch an alcobev brand: from having a clear idea and building the product to manufacturing, capital, distribution and getting consumers to pick it off the shelf. He also talks about why a clever bottle or an unusual flavour may make an interesting product, but that alone does not necessarily make a successful brand.

The episode also gets into the economics of the industry, including why established Alcobev businesses can operate at strong EBITDA levels, and what makes the category attractive once a business has established its model.

For anyone interested in consumer brands, whisky, premiumisation, distribution, regulation or building businesses in India, this conversation gives a detailed look at how the alcobev industry actually works.