Women tipplers up stakes in India

WOMEN who drink, long portrayed as less than respectable by Bollywood movies, are becoming big business in socially conservative India.

Makers of alcoholic beverages, including global No 1 Diageo, are taking notice of this small segment of India’s $10billion (R93-billion) drinks industry that is growing more than twice as fast as the overall sector and presents a significant, if delicate, market opportunity.

With more women in the organised workforce, gaining financial independence and interacting with their male counterparts in social and professional settings, the idea of them drinking is slowly gaining acceptance.

“As recently as in my mother’s generation it was frowned upon, and it is now perfectly acceptable to have a glass of champagne or white wine,” said Rajeev Samant, founder and chief executive of Sula Vineyards, the largest domestic winemaker.

Two years ago, Sula launched Dia, a light, slightly sparkling wine aimed at female drinkers that comes in a slender bottle with pastel-coloured labelling and has a lower alcohol content.

The company is adding more low-alcohol options and expects women to account for roughly one-third of sales this year.

French drinks group Remy Cointreau, whose Cointreau is an ingredient in a Cosmopolitan, the signature cocktail of the TV show Sex and the City, launched the orange liqueur in India three years ago to tap the burgeoning women’s market.

“There is a rise in the cocktail culture and a significant part of that is because of women,” said Rajesh Grover, marketing manager for the Indian subcontinent at Remy Cointreau, which holds promotional events that offer steeper discounts to women wearing higher heels.

Still, despite boasting the world’s largest whiskey market, Indians are overall among the world’s lowest consumers of alcohol. Only 30% of men and 3% of women have at least one drink a year, according to the India Centre for Alcohol Studies (Incas), a government research body.

The women’s market in India is expected to grow 25% over the next five years, faster than the 10% rise projected for the overall industry, Incas said.

Rising incomes and changing social habits give India the growth potential that recently prompted British-based Diageo to enter a deal to buy a controlling stake in United Spirits Ltd, India’s biggest alcohol maker.

Despite its rapid modernisation, India remains deeply traditional. Incidents of thugs beating up women at pubs are not unheard of.

The New Delhi gang rape and killing of a young physiotherapy student who was out with a male friend provoked outrage about attitudes towards women in India, which was found to be the worst place to be a woman among the world’s biggest economies in a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll.

Bars in India are male-only bastions.

Women who drink in public would typically do so in highend restaurants or bars in upscale sections of cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore.

The trend is seen spreading to smaller cities, albeit cautiously.

A ban on alcohol and cigarette advertising forces makers of alcoholic beverages to be creative, using their brands on water, soda and even CDs.

Many sponsor fashion shows and music festivals, while some have hired Bollywood stars for related promotions.

India’s burgeoning retail revolution, which has seen supermarket chains sprouting up in major cities, has also made alcohol more available to women. — Reuters

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