Recently, a relative complained about how her enterprising husband has started drinking one drink every evening since the pandemic. He was not much into alcohol at first and was only an occasional social drinker. However, Sajjan, who runs his marketing consultancy from Gurugram, enjoyed a drink daily when the lockdown was first announced last year. A habit formed during the harsh days of social distancing, when he could not go to his office or visit his friends, however, endured much to the irritability of his wife and perhaps the delight of alcoholic beverage companies.
Many others in friends and family have acknowledged similar changes in habits. In another example, a man discarded his collection of Glenmorangi, Glenfiddich, Black Label and Chivas 18s, which he used to stock for his close friends. The die-hard vodka fan experimented with brown spirits and began to enjoy the taste.
In the absence of any detailed, mega sample survey on alcohol consumption during COVID, anecdotal evidence points to a number of changes in consumer behavior towards alcohol, something companies in the sector have also seen.
in a fireside chat during Mint Marketing Awards Recently, Diageo India’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dipika Warrier said that though research agencies were not able to rope out their teams to track consumers, the company has engaged with its customers in virtual groups and face-to-face. Spoke in front. “We really relied more on our own observations as consumers, our friends, our community, and how many short market tours we could take to understand what was happening,” she said.
He noticed that the drinking permission increased. Drinking alcohol is no longer as taboo as it was before. “It suddenly became far more central to family get-togethers, smaller, more casual, intimate gatherings,” Warrior said.
in an interview to Mint Last week, Diageo India’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hina Nagarajan also said that alcohol has become almost semi-essential and people are drinking better since the pandemic. They like to have very high quality brands. Additionally, consumption in the home is leading to experimentation, “drinking repertoire” and discovery, she said.
In trying new things, many people have gone beyond their regular brand of whiskey. “With the aspiration of global brands, we saw a huge local pride developing. This entire craft event derives from this pride and local heritage,” said Nagarajan. This inspired the company to foray into the Indian craft segment with the limited edition Artisanal Whiskey Epitome Reserve.
Diageo owns Scotch whiskey brands like Johnnie Walker, Black & White, and J&B, Smirnoff Vodka, and Gordon & Tanqueray Gin.
The pandemic sparked other things. In these, home delivery was unlocked during Kovid. “We are increasingly seeing that states open up and take a very positive approach. We have six or seven states doing home delivery now. While these models take time to develop…we are working with retailers, regulators to see which models are the best at home delivery.”
Liquor companies have also launched non-alcoholic or zero-alcoholic beverages over the years. Last week, international brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) launched its first energy drink, Budweiser Beats, claiming here to be a logical extension of its zero-alcohol beers to Budweiser and Hoegaarden, which are 19- Growing up to 20. % one year.
Globally, the company’s ambition is to integrate nonalcoholic beers and beers with an ABV of 3.5% or less (alcohol by alcohol) into their beverage options for drinkers. In 2018, United Breweries Limited, India’s largest beer maker, entered the non-alcoholic beverage market with the launch of Kingfisher Radler. Most of the companies see this segment growing and are planning the products accordingly.
Nagarajan also said that Diageo will keep the consumer at the center when planning products. “I would say that one of the things that we are really changing is… what are the growth opportunities in the future, the future trends that you know are developing globally, and what are the traction in India So, we’re adopting more futuristic back lenses right now,” she said.
Globally, post-Covid, Nagarajan saw a trend of moderation and overall well-being with the potential of low- and no-alcoholic beverages, especially among millennials.
Shuchi Bansal Mint Media, Marketing and Advertising Editor. The Ordinary Post will look into the important issues related to the three. Or just fun stuff.
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