Alcobev sector set to grow in new normal conditions

"All India sales volume growth for IMFL segment for the first half of the year 2019-20 was 29 per cent. Leaving out April when entire liquor trade was shut down under lockdown, the sales growth for the period May to September in 2020 was - 16 per cent over same period last year," says the data compiled by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), the apex body of Indian alcoholic beverage industry.

Complete ban on liquor sale during lockdown followed by imposition of steep corona tax in some States has led to drop of almost 30 per cent in sale of liquor across India in the first half of current fiscal. Situation has been worse in States like Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, and Rajasthan, which still continue to impose corona tax as high as 50 per cent, where sales also have dropped by almost 50 per cent.

Though the pan-India liquor sale improved in the second quarter, it was the first quarter (April-June) which did the maximum damage. Second quarter (July-Sept) sales improved over first quarter, rising up to 78 million cases (9 litres each) of IMFL which was 9 per cent below the same period last year. The comparable number for first quarter (April-June) was - 49 per cent.

As momentum gathers about the next wave of Covid, during the festive season, the alcohol industry has soldiered on. New products are being launched, more customised marketing initiatives are being executed and there are measured marketing promotions. It is this time of the year when the sales of alcobev products take off.

While organic sales may not be there with the same robustness, leading alcobev companies are looking for inorganic growth to shore up their balance sheets. Technology is going to play a major part in the innovation scheme of things. With work from home gaining momentum, there will be changes in the way businesses run and the way products and alcohol will be consumed. Personal drinking experiences will be the order of the day.

The food and beverage industry and in this context the alcobev industry, producers are looking forward to the new normal. The brewers are putting their best beers forward and the wine makers are uncorking their best wines.

As the year comes to an end, the pandemic has yet to come to an end. Governments are urging its citizens that it is not over yet. All precautionary measures should continue in earnestness till the vaccine or the cure takes centre stage.