Tilaknagar Industries’ Sanaya Dahanukar says the company found the single malt category too cluttered to offer a strong point of differentiation
Single malts have dominated India’s premium whisky discourse despite accounting for a small share of overall whisky consumption. Now, Tilaknagar Industries, which has transitioned from a brandy-led company into a significant whisky player following the Imperial Blue acquisition, is betting that pure malt will drive the next phase of growth for the sector.
Sanaya Dahanukar, General Manager, Growth and Innovation at Tilaknagar Industries, said the company’s conviction has culminated in Seven Islands, an Indo-Scottish pure malt whisky that blends four malt spirits from India’s Himalayas and Vindhyas with Scotland’s Speyside and Lowlands.
Rather than introducing another single malt, Tilaknagar chose to enter the premium whisky space with a pure malt, arguing that the style offers greater scope for blending, flavour complexity and craftsmanship while opening up a relatively unexplored segment in India’s evolving whisky market.
“When we did our study of the competitive landscape, what we felt was that the single malt category was already quite cluttered. We felt that the unique selling proposition for us would not be very strong with an Indian single malt. When we looked at other countries, we did see pure malt as an emerging whisky style globally. We did not see a similar product coming from an Indian company, which is why we decided that we wanted to experiment with a unique style of whisky,” Dahanukar noted during a media roundtable.
Beyond The Single Malt Conversation
India’s whisky market is expanding at a time when much of the global alcobev industry is slowing. Citing industry trends, Dahanukar said India was among the few growth markets globally, growing at around 4 per cent last year while 15 to 20 million consumers enter the legal drinking age annually. Whisky remains at the heart of that story, accounting for over 60 per cent of India’s IMFL market with volumes exceeding 200 million cases.
Despite the buzz around premiumisation, Dahanukar argued that the conversation has become disproportionately centred on single malts. She pointed out that while Indian single malts have been growing at over 20 per cent annually, they still account for less than 5 per cent of the country’s whisky consumption, indicating that the premium whisky journey is still in its early stages.
Drawing parallels with global markets, she noted that blended Scotch continues to account for 85 to 90 per cent of global Scotch sales, compared with 10 to 15 per cent for single malts. “I believe that the next phase of growth for the luxury whisky category could actually be coming from exploration in the wider malt space, apart from only the unidimensional single malt conversation that has been had over the last few years,” Dahanukar said.
The New Whisky Consumer
Dahanukar believes the premium whisky opportunity is also being shaped by changing consumer preferences. According to her, younger legal drinking age consumers are less bound by traditional category rules than previous generations, making them more open to experimenting with different whisky styles, serves and occasions.
She noted that India’s drinking culture is shifting from volume to experience, with cocktail-led consumption gaining traction. “People were very opposed to drinking a premium whisky in a cocktail. But I think with the younger generation, that is not necessarily true anymore. They are happy to meet a whisky in a highball or even a spritz style serve when they are looking for a slightly lighter format,” she said.
That shift is also influencing how premium brands engage consumers. Dahanukar cited Tilaknagar’s participation at India Cocktail Week, where Seven Islands was served through four signature cocktails and the company’s tasting masterclasses that allowed consumers to sample each of the four constituent malts before experiencing the final blend. According to her, such experiences help consumers better appreciate the layered complexity of a pure malt rather than viewing it through the lens of a conventional single malt.
Scaling A Niche Category
Tilaknagar is pairing its category bet with a phased distribution strategy. Dahanukar said the acquisition of Imperial Blue has provided the company with “a very strong backbone of distribution”, allowing it to take Seven Islands beyond its initial presence in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Puducherry into more premium markets.
“The reason that I think the timing was really right for us with this launch of Seven Islands was because it came after the acquisition of Imperial Blue in our portfolio. Imperial Blue really provides us a very strong backbone of distribution, which will help us expand our presence across markets,” she said. According to the company’s presentation, Seven Islands is planned to expand into ten-plus key luxury markets across India in the current financial year (FY27).
Dahanukar also sees consumer discovery becoming increasingly omnichannel as premium whisky consumption evolves. “I would say it is almost like an equal role that retail and on-trade both play in discovery,” she said, pointing to the emergence of premium liquor stores with curated displays and tasting lounges alongside bars and restaurants.
“People are always looking for something new to add to their bar collection as well. That is where branding and packaging plays a very important role,” she added.
Building A House Of Luxury
For Tilaknagar, Seven Islands is one part of a broader premium spirits strategy. Dahanukar said the company has created House of TI, a dedicated luxury vertical that brings together Monarch, its Indo-French pure grape brandy, and Seven Islands, while also investing in emerging craft spirits brands to build what it calls a homegrown luxury portfolio. The move comes as India’s luxury retail market is projected to expand from USD 8 billion today to USD 14 billion by 2032, according to her.
The platform also houses Tilaknagar’s investments in craft spirits. According to the presentation, the company invested Rs 8 crore for an initial 36 per cent stake in premium cocktail mixer brand Bartisans, followed by an additional Rs 2 crore to increase its holding to 41.45 per cent. It has also invested Rs 24.4 crore for a 21 per cent stake in Spaceman Spirits Lab, the maker of Samsara Gin, Sitara Rum and Amara Vodka.
Dahanukar said Tilaknagar’s role extends beyond financial investments. “Our role in these craft spirits companies is not necessarily just a financial role because we do also support them with manufacturing, distribution and really building scale. We believe that Indian craft spirits can go and will go global,” she said.
With Seven Islands set to enter ten-plus key luxury markets across India in FY27, Tilaknagar’s next focus will be on expanding awareness of pure malt while continuing to build its broader premium spirits portfolio under House of TI.
