Rockford maker spices up competition in premium whisky market with Singhasan-OxBig News Network

“This is a completely Indian product, unlike the IMFL scotch blends available in the market,” Abhishek Modi, managing director of Modi Illva, said, while speaking to Mint exclusively.

“The margins in entry-level whisky are shrinking, which is driving premiumization. Consumers are also becoming more discerning,” Modi said.

Founded in 2008 as a 50-50 joint venture between the Umesh Modi Group and Illva Saronno, the Italian owner of liqueur brand Tia Maria, Modi Illva entered the premium whisky space with Rockford Reserve in 2011, followed by Rockford Classic in 2014. The company crossed two million cases sold in 2022, Modi said, and has established a strong presence in key states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana and is operational across about 20 states.

Also Read | Mansion House maker to add premium brandy

“We’ve garnered a 20% market share in the Rockford category and are growing at a 78% CAGR, compared to the industry’s 8-10% growth,” Modi said. He believes the new launch will tap into a growing demand for premium whiskies. “Consumers are moving up, and premiumization is happening across the segment,” Modi said, citing the market for premium whisky has grown from five million to 20 million cases in the last decade or so since it started operations.

Priced between ₹1,200 and ₹1,300 in Delhi, Singhasan was soft-launched in Odisha, Goa, and Haryana in late 2024 and will soon expand across other markets.

Also Read | Aristocrat maker plans to raise ₹300 cr for new single malt, brandy and more

To back its ambitions, the company will deploy ₹200 crore over five years for research and development and marketing efforts to push the new whisky. The company aims to capture a 5% share of India’s six-million-case scotch whisky market, which currently forms a third of the 20 million premium cases sold annually.

Despite the challenges of scaling up rapidly in the liquor business, Modi remains confident. “We have a strong distribution network, so we should be able to hit the ground running pretty soon,” he said, projecting profitability within two years. Its business currently skews heavily towards whisky, which accounts for 95% of sales, with its Artic vodka contributing the rest. At a portfolio level, Modi Illva expects to close the year at 2.7 million cases.

Also Read | Pernod Ricard puts up Imperial Blue whisky for sale

Expanding alcoholic beverage market

Singhasan launch mirrors India’s expanding alcoholic beverage market. The country’s total alcoholic beverage market crossed $32 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow by an additional $7 billion by 2028, according to data from London-based consultancy IWSR. Spirits account for 53% of volumes, with whisky dominating at 66%.

Other players have also recently launched new products to further tap into India’s whisky-drinking market. In November last year, Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd (ABD) announced the launch of Arthaus blended malt scotch whisky. Last week, Uppal Brewers & Distillers Pvt. Ltd launched Soorahi, a blended Indian whisky too.

International players are also expanding their whisky portfolios to bring in more superior single malts. This week, Moët Hennessy India launched Glenmorangie Infinita 18-year-old single malt.

“The Indian consumer is far more willing to try newer products as compared to some years ago,” Modi said. But the company is not immediately looking at creating a single-malt product. “We find that there are quite a few players in that category and we will consider it but not at this point,” he added.

According to the company’s filings with the registrar of companies, accessed via business intelligence platform Tofler, Modi Illva India’s revenue from operations in FY24 was ₹183.14 crore, growing significantly over FY23’s ₹78.7 crore. Its net profit was ₹141.5 crore, which also grew over FY23’s ₹56.7 crore.

Modi added that sales from Modi Distillery, a unit of Modi Industries Ltd, accounted for ₹1,298 crore in FY24. In FY25, the distillery is expected to do about ₹1,897 crore of business. The unit makes rectified spirit, extra neutral alcohol and country liquor in addition to IMFL spirits.