Tis the season to be bingeing. It appears the heat is driving city slickers to drink — the alcoholic kind. Beer has had a definite spike in sales this summer. It is a product that is very relative to the weather.
But what has caught the fancy of women in the city is alcopop. These products are lower in alcohol and so tap into the growing consumer desire for lighter drinking, lower-calorie offerings in flavours like mango and strawberry. The range has a light, sweet and refreshing taste making it an ideal summer drink for women looking for a lighter style drink.
In today’s alcopops, the alcohol is much more masked by sweeteners than in the older style ready-to-drinks.xThe concern however, is that alcopops are helping introduce alcohol to women who normally might find the taste of it unpalatable. Alcoholic drinks that are as easy to drink as soft drink may lead to drinking at risky levels.
Still alcopops are widely seen as a gateway drink, priming tastebuds, more normally accustomed to sweet fizzy drinks, for something with a boozy kick. And what a kick - typically, they boast alcohol levels of 5 per cent, similar to a premium lager, and stronger than the ciders and beers.Today, the alcopops market is well into its second incarnation, and in industry terms is better known as FABs (flavoured alcoholic beverages) or RTDs (ready to drink).
last year, 2,800 cases of alcopop were sold till July 15 while this year, sales have touched 4,500 cases (around 54,000 bottles) till July 15. The increase in sales in malls has clearly impacted the overall increase in sale of alcopops in the Capital. last year, over 2 lakh bottles were sold.Spike in sales of alcopops however, don’t point to a newfound temperance among Delhiites. If anything, people have expanded their repertoire of drinks, to include lagers, wines, spirits, cocktails and more.
Beer consumption in the city has crossed over 5,83,27,644 bottles between April 1 and July 13 this year. Sales of beer have increased from 9 per cent to 10 per cent in the current financial year.Besides beer, the sale of whiskey, rum, vodka and other liquor also registered increase this year. As per data, a total of 27,18,668 cases of whisky were sold this year compared to 25,48,404 cases last year. This means a total of 1,68,264 cases were sold more this year.
Similarly, a total of 1,60,850 cases of wine were sold this year compared to 1,09,297 cases last year. This year, 51,553 more cases were sold. Not only Indian Made Foreign liquor (IMFl) but sale of foreign liquor too has seen a spirited increase.