India’s alcoholic beverages industry, estimated at $50-60 billion, is witnessing a growing wave of home-grown alcobev brands looking to capture a larger share of the market. While global liquor giants continue to dominate the sector, Indian companies are increasingly entering premium categories such as craft beer, gin, vodka, rum and agave-based spirits, driven by rising incomes, changing consumer preferences and rapid premiumisation.
Goa-based Latambarcem Brewers, the company behind Borecha and Maka Di, is among the emerging Indian players expanding its footprint. Co-founder Ishan Varshnei said the company identified a gap in the domestic beer market after he returned from the US about a decade ago. Rather than focusing only on branding and marketing, the company has invested in product development, manufacturing, research and development and innovation. Launched in 2020, Maka Di is now part of the company’s broader expansion strategy, with Latambarcem Brewers targeting revenue of Rs 500 crore over the next five years.
The company is also planning to expand its manufacturing capacity and enter the liquor segment, with plans to establish facilities in Karnataka and Maharashtra. Borecha and Maka Di are targeting revenue of Rs 50 crore in FY27, compared with Rs 20 crore in FY26. Alcoholic beverages currently contribute around 65% of the company’s business, while non-alcoholic products account for the remaining 35%.
India’s alcobev market is estimated to be growing at 6-8% annually, while IWSR expects alcohol volumes in the country to increase at a compound annual growth rate of around 3% between 2024 and 2034. One of the biggest growth drivers is premiumisation, as consumers increasingly shift from economy and standard products towards craft gin, single malts, premium spirits and imported labels.
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Several Indian brands, including Spaceman Spirits Lab, Maya Pistola Agavepura, ZigZag Vodka, Rockford Reserve and Chambal Gin, are targeting this premiumisation trend. The sector has also attracted venture capital and private equity interest, with startups such as Ochre Spirits, Rock Paper Rum, Six Brothers and Sur entering specialised categories ranging from rum and mahua-based spirits to cashew feni.
According to Tracxn, India has more than 330 alcobev startups, with 83 receiving funding. Around 15 new companies have entered the sector annually over the past decade, highlighting the growing entrepreneurial interest in India’s alcoholic beverages market.
Bapuna Alcobrew, which makes Daku Rum and Chambal Gin, is also looking to benefit from the shift towards premium alcoholic beverages. COO Parvez Bapuna said rising incomes and economic growth are encouraging Indian consumers to explore premium products. The company plans to expand into beer, whisky and vodka after entering the gin and rum categories. Its upcoming vodka and whisky brands will target the premium segment, while its beer offering will focus on the mass market, with a target of selling half a million cases by next summer.
However, scaling production remains a major challenge for smaller Indian alcobev companies. Vinod Giri, Director General of the Brewers Association of India, said emerging players are largely concentrated in niche categories such as gin, vodka and single malts, where volumes remain relatively limited. Large companies continue to dominate high-volume categories such as whisky and beer.
The Indian spirits market remains highly concentrated, with Pernod Ricard and Diageo together controlling around half of the spirits market. In beer, United Breweries, majority-owned by Heineken, along with Carlsberg and AB InBev, account for nearly 85% of the market. Domestic brands have made progress in select markets such as Delhi, but their ability to grow nationally will depend on manufacturing scale, access to working capital and the ability to navigate different alcohol regulations across Indian states.
India’s alcoholic beverages market comprises around 1.1 billion cases, with beer and Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) each accounting for roughly 400 million cases, according to JM Financial. The brokerage sees India as an attractive long-term market because of its low per-capita alcohol consumption, favourable demographics and accelerating premiumisation.
The country is also expected to add around 100 million people to the legal drinking-age population by 2030, representing about a quarter of the projected global increase in alcohol consumers. This growth potential has made India a strategically important market for global liquor companies. India is the second-largest market for Pernod Ricard, among Diageo’s top three markets and the fourth-largest market for Budweiser, while also playing an important role in Carlsberg’s global growth strategy.
With premiumisation accelerating and consumer preferences evolving, Indian alcobev startups are increasingly challenging established players in specialised categories. While global companies retain a strong advantage in scale and distribution, the growing number of home-grown brands suggests India’s alcoholic beverages market could see increasing competition and innovation in the years ahead
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