Allied Blenders And Distillers Expects 40% Volume Growth In Premium Segment In H2

Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd. is expecting a 40% volume growth from its premium offering, prestige and above segment, in the second half of the financial year, on the back of new product launches and partnerships.

The company is also eyeing 50% value growth in the premium segment, according to Managing Director Alok Gupta.

Allied Blenders has launched a slew of premium products in the Indian market since the start of the calendar year. It's latest is Arthaus blended malt scotch whiskey, which was announced on Nov. 5.

Talking to NDTV Profit, Gupta said the P&A “salience” of the company two years back was at 25%.

“In H2, we are looking at roughly 40% by volume and 50% by value coming from the P&A segment. We have further strengthened our presence in the luxury segment,” he said.   

“We launched Zoya (gin) in January 2024, followed by the launch of our first blended malt scotch called Arthaus, which we have rolled out in Maharashtra. And as we speak today, it's already getting rolled out in Rajasthan, Punjab and in Haryana,” he added.

In October, the company had also announced the launch of Russian Standard vodka in India through a partnership, in order to further strengthen its luxury play.

The top executive noted that one of its other premium products, Iconiq White Whiskey, is continuing to “grow”.

“Iconiq White did its first million cases in about 13 months, went on to do about 2.2 million cases in the first full financial year last year. And we're hopeful that this year will close at between 4.5 and 5 million cases. So, the brand is more than likely to double its volume base,” he noted.

Allied Blenders and Distillers is looking at double-digit volume growth in H2 of the current fiscal, Gupta noted.

While growth is dependent on the P&A segment, Gupta did not see much risk in pinning hope on one single category.

“From a demand servicing standpoint, I think we have sufficient capacity to service demand. We always keep our network at least 25% to 30% more than what the demand outlook is. We do not see any significant risk in terms of raw material or supply chain security,” he said.

“So far on the margin front, the commodity cycles have been favourable to neutral. There could be some risk if the commodity cycles were to turn unfavourable, but so far, the outlook is pretty neutral. Hence, I do not see any significant risk on the margin front,” Gupta added.

The MD further revealed that Allied Blenders and Distillers is looking forward to launching more premium products in the market.

“We announced the launch of the Russian Standard, which should hopefully be in the market in Q4 of this financial year. We should see at least two to three more new launches in the luxury segment over the next three to four quarters,” he said.

The company is currently focusing on the luxury segment for launch of new products and brands, according to Gupta.

Shares of Allied Blenders and Distillers jumped 2.37% to hit an intraday high of Rs 344.75 apiece on the NSE on Monday. The stock was trading at Rs 344.1 apiece at 12:32 p.m., compared to a 0.16% gain in benchmark Nifty at 24,170.55.