‘Individualization is the new trend’
Pradeep Gidwani, Industry Veteran and Founder, The Pint Room
There is a lot going on in the world not just in the drinks space. What’s happening today is a contrast of what had happened in the period between the 1960s and the 1990s. Then it was all about standardization, efficiency, getting the same product everywhere, looking identical, feeling identical. In that era standardization was happening across categories – burgers, jeans, drinks, etc.
We have seen beers like Heineken and Carlsberg and spirits like Johnny Walker keep producing. We have seen McDonald’s completely standardized across the world. We have seen jeans like Lewis absolutely standardized across the world – same trend, same color, same material, everything standardized. And this was pretty much happening in the alcohol industry as well.
But the post-1990s, began the era of individualization. We have moved from standardization to individualization. We see this happening in almost every category. For example, in spirits, take Scotch. We have moved on from the era when we were all literally happy drinking Johnny Walker Black Label, which was then something to really aspire for. Today, we are looking at single malts and within single malts we are looking at specific malts. Each of us has his/her own
taste whether it’s Highland malt or Islay malt.
We see a very similar trend in beers. From standardized mass-produced lagers like Heineken, Carlsberg and larger Budweisers, we have moved to craft beers. This trend is increasing across the world. Countries like the United States have about 13% share of craft beer in their beer consumption. Another trend is the big revival of artisanal gins across the world.
We have also seen a new trend in rum. In the past rum was rum and only rum. Now spiced rum and mature rum have come into the picture. Vodka is too no more a standardized clear liquid. We are seeing a whole host of flavoured vodkas. And the same thing is happening in burgers. A basic burger, like hamburger from McDonald’s, has been transformed into craft burger. And, we have our own Indian burgers by the name of Burger Singh.
Today people want individualization. They are looking for niche. Premiumization is also happening. All of this is really manifesting itself in various formats. For example, it could be
an interesting ritual. If I look at tequila, there is a ritual attached to India – lick, shoot and suck. If I look at beers, Corona started a very interesting trend with a lime on top.
Glassware is also being used to create trends. In the case of beers, different glassware are being used for different styles of beer. Flavours are also seeing increasing use. Today we are
talking about flavours in vodka like cranberry and blueberry flavours. And all kinds of flavours are coming in.
We are also talking about seasonal drinks. They are asking for seasonal beers, like saison beers and beers for Christmas. Then ingredients have also become important. People are using ingredients in gin and saying my coriander or dhania seeds come from this part of the world.
We are talking about countries like Japan. Suddenly everything Japanese seems to be a trend. Sakes, shochus, Japanese single malts are in demand. So the world is seeing quite a dramatic shift with the new-age drinks coming in.