stingy greeting! Malayalis would rather toast cheap liquor

Malayalis seem to live by the maxim “intoxication on a budget,” especially when it comes to inexpensive brown spirits, since they contradict the prevailing national trend of rising demand for luxury liquor.

According to a research by the International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI), only 4% of Keralans drink premium liquor, which is priced at more than Rs 1,000 per 750 ml; the majority, or 96%, drink cheap booze.

Premiumization—the practice of drinking premium liquor—has far greater proportions in the neighboring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, at 6% and 10%, respectively. 12% of the population lives in states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, while as much as 22% and 20.5% of the population lives in impoverished states like West Bengal and Odisha. Of all the Indian states, Telangana has the largest percentage of premium liquor sales—52%—of the total.

According to Nita Kapoor, CEO of ISWAI, Kerala’s alcohol beverage (alcobev) business is facing difficulties despite its prosperity because of low levels of premiumization.

According to ISWAI’s guesswork, Kerala’s annual IMFL volumes are around 3.3 crore cases, of which 33% are beer, 35% are brandy, and 27% are rum. A little portion of the market—roughly 4,000–5,000 cases per month—is made up of imported goods.

Beer, brandy, and rum make up a sizable 96% of the amount sold in the state, according to Nita. “The entry-level prices are fairly modest; the larger 750 ml bottle costs between Rs 450 and 750, while brandy and rum are priced at Rs 140 a nip (180 ml) and Rs 110 for beer.” She continued by saying that the state’s preference for expensive automobiles and other things like big-screen TVs stands in stark contrast to this behavior. High taxes, restricted access to retail locations, and inadequate infrastructure for retail contributed to this tendency, according to Nita, which negatively impacted the shopping experience.

With 0.8 retail liquor stores per lakh of people, Kerala has the lowest ratio of any state in the union. Uttar Pradesh, in contrast, has 2.9 retail locations per lakh of residents.

Karnataka has seven outlets, whereas Tamil Nadu has six. ~

Kerala is taking its time investigating the market.

According to Nita, Kerala has one of the lowest rates of retail establishments per 100 square kilometers, with just 0.8 of them. Kerala lags behind because of its antiquated retail infrastructure, whereas states with greater premiumization levels have walk-in shops and better customer experiences.

As Nita noted out, Kerala has been sluggish to explore its potential in the luxury spirits industry, despite having one of the highest per capita incomes in India and a sizable influx of tourists.

Kerala continues to see mostly entry-level consumption of scotch, single malt, and ready-to-drink drinks, whereas other states are seeing a boom in these categories.