The festive season, with Navratri and Durga Puja just past and Diwali around the corner, opens up a significant market for India’s alcoholic beverages (alcobev) industry. The surge in consumer spending during this period offers brands an opportunity to drive sales, even as they navigate state-specific taxes, distribution challenges and advertising restrictions.
Onam offered an early indication of the scale of festive demand. Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BEVCO) recorded liquor sales worth Rs 233 crore in the first three days of the 2026 Onam season, an 11 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year. According to media experts and marketers from the alcobev industry who spoke to IMPACT, an average of around 50% of the category’s annual marketing spends is allocated to the festive period by the liquor brands.
“Festive occasions continue to be strong consumption drivers, but what is changing is the intent behind purchases. Consumers today are more willing to explore premium offerings, distinctive flavours and homegrown brands that deliver quality and authenticity,” says Sam Mahandru, Founder, IndoBevs. “This shift is creating exciting opportunities for Indian whisky and other premium categories, shaping both portfolio innovation and long-term growth strategies. At the same time, the regulatory environment requires companies to remain agile, with pricing, distribution, and brand-building approaches that balance compliance with sustainable growth.”
The shift is reflected in the industry’s numbers. Alcobev revenues are expected to grow 8-10 per cent this fiscal to touch Rs 5.3 lakh crore, according to Crisil Ratings, following a 13 per cent compound annual growth rate over the preceding three years. Premium and luxury spirits priced above Rs 1,000 for a 750ml bottle are expected to grow 15 per cent this year, taking their share of spirits revenue to 38-40 per cent. The opportunity, therefore, is not just about selling more, but about persuading consumers to explore better-quality products and new drinking experiences.
For marketers, however, there is a peculiar catch. Alcohol brands cannot advertise as freely as most consumer businesses. The industry is busy trying to move beyond conventional campaigns towards cultural associations, experiential marketing, creator collaborations and branded content. But the challenge to remain visible without crossing the line into surrogate advertising remains as tough as ever.
From ‘Men Will Be Men’ to marketing without conventional ads
The restrictions have not always meant that alcohol brands have been absent from popular culture. For years, campaigns such as Imperial Blue’s ‘Men Will Be Men’ built recall through humour and recognisable social situations, while Signature whisky developed associations with adventure, achievement and aspirational lifestyles. These campaigns helped establish brand identities that consumers could recognise even when direct product advertising was restricted.
The advertising landscape has since become more complex. Legacy campaigns continue to be remembered, but today’s brands must navigate greater scrutiny of brand extensions, digital content and the relationship between a permitted product and a restricted parent brand. In August 2026, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration issued show-cause notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over a Vimal Elaichi advertisement, alleging that it could indirectly promote Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in the state at the time. The notices brought renewed attention to the scrutiny surrounding surrogate advertising.
For alcohol marketers, the implications are familiar. A brand extension, event or content property cannot automatically be treated as a safe alternative to advertising. The challenge is to build genuine consumer engagement while ensuring that communication does not simply serve as an indirect extension of product advertising.
“You cannot depend on conventional advertising in the way many other consumer categories can, so the focus has shifted towards creating relevance around the brand through experiences, culture, communities, food, music and digital storytelling,” says Abhinav Jindal, Founder and CEO of BeeYoung & BeeYoung Brewgarden.
Arvind Bajaj, Founder of Conan Beer, describes the same recalibration: the challenge, he says, is to make sure communication is authentic rather than simply ‘an indirect extension of product advertising.’
For newer entrants without legacy distribution, Jindal argues the restriction is almost an equaliser, since a young brand ‘has to be much sharper about what makes it relevant’ than one coasting on recall.
And for this industry, the regulatory pressure extends beyond advertising to the products themselves. In August 2026, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered a halt to sales of select variants of Old Monk, McDowell’s No. 1 Rum, Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, Royal Challenge and Antiquity Blue, citing the use of artificial or nature-identical flavouring substances and concerns over age-related labelling claims. The action targeted specific variants and manufacturing facilities, rather than the brands in their entirety. Old Monk’s manufacturer subsequently challenged the order, bringing the dispute over how flavoured spirits should be classified and labelled before the Bombay High Court. The episode underscores how regulatory scrutiny is adding another layer of uncertainty for an industry already navigating restrictions on marketing.
From festivals to micro-dramas
But the industry remains hopeful about turning their sales around. For which, music remains one of the most prominent platforms for the alcobev brands. But the scope and definition of brand-building is expanding and now, companies are exploring formats that allow them to participate in culture rather than simply sponsor it, from bartender-led experiences to creator collaborations and digital storytelling.
For Diageo, the focus is on creating opportunities for discovery. “World Class by Diageo, for example, puts bartenders at the centre as creators in their own right. The 2026 edition received over 800 entries, with bartenders reinterpreting Johnnie Walker Black Label through different cocktail formats. Whisky Experiments takes that thinking into the on-trade, where bartenders and consumers can explore whisky beyond conventional serves,” says Varun Koorichh, Portfolio Head, International Whiskies, Diageo India.
The next frontier could be micro-dramas, as brands explore short, episodic stories designed for social media. Diageo-owned Astral Tequila has already experimented with the format in the US. Its five-part branded series, It’s Midnight Somewhere, created with production company Merman and directed by Madelaine Turner, follows sisters Brooks and Grace Ann Nader as a night of making Astral Midnight Margaritas turns into an unexpected adventure. The episodes were released across YouTube Shorts, Instagram and TikTok in August 2026, linking the brand to the Practical Magic 2 franchise.
For Indian alcobev marketers, however, such formats would need to be assessed against local advertising restrictions. Entertainment-led storytelling does not, by itself, remove the risk of a campaign being treated as indirect product promotion.
Indian spirits, global ambitions
The marketing challenge comes as homegrown spirits gain recognition overseas. Haryana-based Indri, launched by Piccadily Distilleries in 2022, has accumulated international awards, while Goa’s Paul John and Bengaluru’s Amrut have helped establish Indian single malt whisky as a global category. Radico Khaitan’s Rampur has also built a presence in international premium spirits markets.
Vikram Achanta, Founder and CEO of Tulleeho and Co-Founder of 30BestBarsIndia and India Bartender Show, points to collaborations that bring food and drink trends into the real world. He sees this as part of a broader shift in how Indian ingredients and flavours are entering the mainstream spirits conversation, not just Indian production techniques.
“Jamun is a great example of this and could almost be called the flavour of the year in spirits, showing up across gin and vodka, including Smirnoff and Magic Moments,” he says, pointing also to local coffee, botanicals and regional produce showing up in newer liqueur and amaro brands as evidence that IMFL—India Made Foreign Liquor—is becoming ‘more Indian than foreign.’
The opportunity extends to spirits rooted in regional traditions. Yangdup Lama, Co-founder of Sidecar, Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy and India Bartender Show, sees a broader shift in how consumers understand premium spirits, with greater interest in provenance and products rooted in regional identities. He draws a direct comparison to how tequila and mezcal built entire global categories out of ingredients tied to centuries of local history, and argues Indian spirits rooted in mahua or feni carry similar potential—provided brands earn the story rather than borrow it. “A smaller brand working with an ingredient that a founder knows and has a first-hand relationship with will always tell a more convincing story than someone just putting ‘Indian’ on a label,” he says.
Achanta cites mahua brand Six Brothers as an early example of that geography playing out in real time, moving from a strong base in Maharashtra into Haryana and Karnataka as consumer interest and state-level access both evolve.
The premiumisation opportunity
The shift towards differentiated products is also changing what companies expect from younger legal-age consumers. Rather than assuming that growth will come from more frequent consumption, brands are responding to interest in cocktails, premium spirits and distinctive flavours.
“The more interesting shift is not that younger legal-age consumers are drinking less; they are drinking differently and increasingly choosing better. They are more conscious about occasions, more experimental with formats such as cocktails, and more willing to trade up when the experience, liquid and story justify it. At the same time, moderation is becoming a more deliberate part of how people socialise,” says Koorichh.
For Campari Group, this is creating opportunities across categories. “A new generation of adult consumers is becoming more discerning, showing greater interest in quality, provenance, craftsmanship and new drinking experiences. Consumers are also experimenting across categories. They do not necessarily want to drink what they had yesterday; they seek something new, distinctive and exciting,” says Arvind Padhi, Commercial Director – Sales, Marketing & CCM, India & The Sub-Continent, Campari Group.
“Looking ahead, we believe growth will be driven not just by volume, but by building distinctive brands, creating meaningful experiences and delivering stronger value to consumers,” Padhi adds.
A market divided by state lines
India’s alcobev market remains fragmented by state-level excise policies, pricing structures and distribution systems. Karnataka’s revised Alcohol-in-Beverage excise framework, which reduces the number of pricing slabs from 16 to eight, illustrates how policy changes can reshape opportunities for producers. The state has also introduced a rule allowing distilleries and breweries to sell directly to visiting tourists.
“State-wise policy differences aren’t just a pricing consideration,” Achanta says. “They can influence everything from how a product is positioned, to where a category can expand and what kind of experiences can be built around it.”
Sanaya Dahanukar, General Manager-Growth & Innovation at Tilaknagar Industries Ltd, which has acquired Imperial Blue Whisky and is known for their Mansion House Brandy, describes the same reality from inside a company managing it: every state has its own pricing structure, excise policies and regulations, which means it has to “think about each market almost as its own ecosystem rather than applying one uniform playbook.”
Availability can be as important as taxation. Anand Virmani, Co-Founder and Master Distiller at Nao Spirits & Beverages, says, “We are currently available across more markets than we have ever been before, following the stock and availability challenges in the past.” His gin brand Greater Than reaches Kerala only through the Army’s Canteen Stores Department rather than the civilian retail network.
The emergence of state-led initiatives adds another dimension. Kerala’s government-owned Malabar Distilleries has introduced Minnal Magic brandy, while Maharashtra has established a separate Maharashtra Made Liquor category intended to support local manufacturers through a different duty structure. These developments demonstrate how state policy can shape which products gain access to consumers and how brands compete.
The balancing act
For alcobev companies, the opportunity is substantial, but growth requires a more considered approach to brand-building. Premiumisation, regional storytelling and cultural experiences are opening new avenues, while micro-dramas offer another format to explore. Yet, the scrutiny of surrogate advertising means that visibility alone is no longer enough.
“Festive occasions like Onam continue to be strong consumption-drivers, but what is changing is the intent behind purchases,” Mahandru says. “At the same time, the regulatory environment requires companies to remain agile, with pricing, distribution, and brand-building approaches that balance compliance with sustainable growth.”
The brands that succeed will be those that combine differentiated products with credible stories and meaningful consumer experiences—while ensuring that their marketing remains on the right side of the rules.
