Alcohol cos cheer as December looks merry for them
1 min read . Updated: 30 Dec 2022, 11:04 PM IST
PremiumSince New Year will be celebrated on a weekend, customers have stocked up and are ready for home parties, or are even travelling
On-premise as well as in-home alcohol sales is likely to rise during the New Year weekend. While many high-end alcohol retailers said pre-purchase of alcoholic beverages for year-end celebrations was seen through December, sales may pick up at the last minute, as was seen over the Christmas weekend.
Thirsty Three Hospitality, which operates Cocktails and Dreams, Cafe Lungta, Sidecar and Speakeasy, in the National Capital Region, said around 80% of its capacity is booked and it expects the New Year’s eve to be a sold-out event. The co-founder Minakshi Singh said: “The entire month has been celebratory, and becoming a lot like the West, where people look to celebrate the entire month rather than just a few holiday days, so the occasions to drink have gone up."
The firm is seeing 30-35% more footfalls from last year when covid disrupted business. It expects its packages starting at ₹3000 a person to be sold out.
Maharashtra -based alcobeverages importer and distributor Monika Alcobev expect quick uptick in sales for tequila and champagne as well as cocktail mixing spirits like Templeton rye whisky, Creyente Mezcal tequila, and unique liqueurs such as Choya Umeshu and La Botija Pisco. It has seen a spurt in alcohol sales ahead of the year-end festive holidays. The company’s national sales and marketing director Hemang Chandat said home-bar consumption increased considerably since covid. “There is one major difference in the way people are consuming alcohol now. They are buying complex cocktail mixing spirits. We are seeing an equal sale of quality spirits at home as we are in on-trade or at bars."
Since New Year will be celebrated on a weekend, customers have stocked up and are ready for home parties, or are even travelling. Moreover, customers across Maharashtra, Goa and Bengaluru are even hiring bartenders for home parties on New Year’e eve. Like last year, alcohol retailers in Maharashtra have been allowed to keep their premises open till 1 am.
“There will be an uptick in consumption as the industry is back to pre-covid levels and this is the first New Year’s Eve celebrations after covid,“ Nita Kapoor, CEO of International Spirits and Wines Association of India, said.
