Opinion by Nikhil Agarwal, CEO, All Things Nice
Globally there is a movement for people to eat and drink healthier. This we know, especially with food. Our supermarkets reflect what is in demand now and people have never been more curious about what goes into our food and where it comes from. When parts of the world and sections of society everywhere including India are moving towards chemical free/organic food, it is not surprising that they would want their drink to be healthier too. When it comes to drinking, in markets like the US and the UK there is a growing trend for people to cut back on alcohol.
Drinking healthier could be achieved in two ways, drinking less or drinking lower or non-alcoholic beverages. People really do not drink only for the effects of alcohol, a growing number of people simply enjoy the taste of it. High alcohol strength beverages limit the amount one can consume and low alcohol beverages on the other hand allow drinkers who are not keen to get high to enjoy a drink without the unwanted effects or toxins.
Drinking habits are changing quite rapidly in general. We see that younger generations have not got the habit of drinking everyday like previous generations did. As societies advance, drinking with dinner rather than drinking before dinner will become more commonplace. Wine, beer and cider are friendlier to go along with food than spirits that have about 40 per cent or more in alcohol strength. There was a time when wine-makers in certain parts of the world were producing wines with high alcohol strength at about 15 per cent or slightly more. This has changed to some degree as well based on market preferences.
Diageo, the world’s largest drink company, recently invested into a company called Seedlip. Seedlip makes drinking non-alcoholic drinks interesting. They have recently launched in India and I think they will do very well in filling a gap. Similarly while there are not too many options right now we will see an influx of beverages either produced in India or imported into India with little or no alcohol. Cider or other low alcohol and fruit based beverages are becoming popular the world over and are being made now in India too. The new companies are being funded by venture capitalists who see this as a bigger market in the future.
Vermouth, technically a fortified wine, as a category is still to become popular as the main component of a drink rather than an addition to a cocktail, but I personally feel that people might take to it as an alternative to spirit. Similarly Aperol at 11 per cent alcohol strength — which is very popular all over the world is gaining in popularity in India only now. Last but not least, Pimms, a gin based liqueur at 25 per cent alcohol strength, allows you to refill multiple times without it getting the better of you and has been a favourite afternoon easy drink for people world over, especially in the UK.
To finish, India is at a very nascent stage with low alcohol drink options. In the developed world, store shelves are packed with options from low to no alcohol beers etc which we do not have for the moment. However, in my opinion, this will change with time.
