Sonal Holland, India’s first Master of Wine has made an fascinating revelation about India association with wine. India’s wine imports have witnessed a steady 14% increase in the past decade. More importantly, this research concludes that wine is the fastest growing alcoholic drink in the country.
“Statistics vary on how many people drink wine in India, but our work so far suggests wine drinkers are drawn largely from 30 million upper income consumers,” said Holland, who has teamed up with Wine Intelligence to analyse the possibilities that the Indian wine market presents.
“There is correspondingly very low national per capita consumption of wine – a bit like where China was 15 years ago.”
Given how India is the world’s second most populous country after China, with a population of 1.3 billion and over 800 million under 35, it is also home to the world’s largest millennial population.
A 7.5% GDP growth for India has been forecasted by Morgan Stanley in 2019, pulling it ahead of China. Indeed, his year India’s GDP has grown by 6.7%, but that clearly indicates that India could present an ideal opportunity for winemakers, said Holland.
“Alcohol sales are on the rise in modern India,” she confirmed, adding that whisky, rum and beer currently dominate. However, she added that the increasing availability of both domestically produced and imported wine has boosted consumer interest in wine, encouraging more people to switch to wine.
[Via:Thedrinksbusiness]
