India’s liquor market is undergoing a wave of premiumisation. Consumers are steadily moving up the value chain, from economy to mid and premium segments, driven by rising disposable incomes, brand consciousness, and evolving social trends.
The result is a clear divergence between volume and value growth. According to Radico Khaitan‘s FY25 annual report, the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) industry is projected to grow at a 5% CAGR in volume
and 14.8% CAGR in value during FY25 and FY29.
This highlights how premiumisation and pricing power are reshaping growth across the sector.
Against this backdrop, we examined the industry’s fastest-growing names to identify who’s leading the charge. The following list, based on the Equitymaster screener, highlights five liquor companies with the strongest 5-year sales CAGR.
#1 IFB Agro Industries
First on the list is IFB Agro Industries.
IFB Agro is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of alcohol, bottling branded alcoholic beverages, processing marine foods for both domestic and export markets, and selling feed.
As of FY23, it has a brewing capacity of 170 kiloliters per day (KLPD) and a total bottling capacity of about 216 million (m) bottles per annum.
From a financial perspective, the company’s sales have grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57,3% over the last 5 years, while PAT has grown at a 0.1% CAGR. Average Return on Equity (RoE) and Return on Capital Employed (RoCE) stand at 6.9% and 8.7%, respectively.
Financial Performance
| Particulars | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
| Net Sales (Rs bn) | -2.9 | -2.6 | 9.2 | 4.8 | 5.8 |
| Sales Growth (%) | -595.8 | NA | NA | -47.6 | 19.9 |
| Net Profit (Rs m) | 464 | 585 | 491 | -81 | 223 |
| RoCE (%) | 12.9 | 14.3 | 12.5 | -2.4 | 6.1 |
| RoE (%) | 10.4 | 11.7 | 9.0 | -1.5 | 3.7 |
Looking ahead, the company has diversified into the aqua feed segment to mitigate risks associated with issues faced in the liquor business in West Bengal.
To this end, it has acquired the entire commercial compound shrimp feed and freshwater fish feed business of Cargill India. Cargill India has an annual turnover of Rs 3.5 billion (bn) in FY25, which is expected to significantly boost its topline starting FY26 onwards.
Meanwhile, the company’s distillery business was affected by rising input costs resulting from increased demand from ethanol manufacturers.
#2 Associate Alcohol and Breweries
Second on the list is Associate Alcohol and Breweries.
The company is an integrated alcoholic beverage company operating the largest manufacturing facility located at a single site. Situated in Madhya Pradesh, the facility has 41 bottling lines with a collective annual capacity of 16 m cases.
The company operates across the entire liquor value chain, including IMFL, Indian Made Indian Liquor, Extra Neutral Alcohol, and grain-based ethanol. Its portfolio spans 14 proprietary brands and strategic alliances for licensed and contract manufacturing with industry leaders such as Diageo and Inbrew.
From a financial perspective, the company’s sales have grown at a CAGR of 15.6% over the last 5 years, while PAT has grown at a 10.5% CAGR. Average RoE and RoCE stand at 16.6% and 21.7%, respectively.
Financial Performance
| Particulars | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
| Net Sales (Rs bn) | 4.2 | 5.1 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 10.6 |
| Sales Growth (%) | -18 | 22.2 | 36.8 | 8.1 | 39.7 |
| Net Profit (Rs m) | 580 | 608 | 416 | 506 | 814 |
| RoCE (%) | 31.5 | 26.1 | 13.2 | 15.6 | 22.2 |
| RoE (%) | 23 | 19.4 | 11.4 | 12.3 | 16.6 |
Looking ahead, the company’s core focus is shifting towards value-added and proprietary brands, aiming for margin accretion. The management expects IMFL (proprietary) volume growth to be around 25-30% over the coming years.
In addition, the company is expanding its premium portfolio, following the successful launches of Nicobar Gin and Hillfort Blended Malt Whiskey.
The company is also preparing to enter the new premium segments of brandy and tequila, which will initially be sold as agave spirit. This aligns with the premiumization trend, which is growing faster than the broader IMFL.
Associated Alcohols is also expanding beyond its core markets, such as Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, to become a pan-India player within the next 1-2 years. Recently, it entered Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and future expansion is expected in Puducherry and Goa as well.
Additionally, it is also investing in backward integration into a new malt plant, aiming to ensure quality, cost benefits and innovation for premium whisky.
#3 Piccadily Agro
Third on the list is Piccadily Agro.
Piccadily Agro began operations as a sugar manufacturer in 1994 and diversified into a grain-based distillery in 2007. It operates a sugar mill with a daily crushing capacity of 5,000 tonnes of sugarcane.
However, the sugar business is now considered non-core due to government regulations. As a result, the company is considering options including disinvestment and demerger.
It’s now transitioning towards value-added and premium-branded IMFL products. This strategic change is evident as the share of IMFL sales grew from 1.7% in FY22 to 42.9% in FY25. Within IMFL, Indri (the leading Indian single malt whisky) has an estimated 55% share of the Indian single malt export market.
Other brands include Cimkara, India’s first and only pure cane juice rum; Whistler; Cashmir; Indri Agneya; Indri Dubai City Series Edition; and Cashmir Vodka.
From a financial perspective, the company’s sales have grown at a CAGR of 13.4% over the last 5 years, while PAT has grown at a 49.9% CAGR. Average RoE and RoCE stand at 16.3% and 24.1%, respectively.
Financial Performance
| Particulars | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
| Net Sales (Rs bn) | 4.9 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 7.3 | 7.5 |
| Sales Growth (%) | 22.3 | 17.1 | 1.8 | 25.6 | 2.6 |
| Net Profit (Rs m) | 176 | 292 | 233 | 1,104 | 1,027 |
| RoCE (%) | 18.9 | 23.8 | 16.4 | 40.6 | 20.7 |
| RoE (%) | 9.5 | 14.1 | 10.1 | 32.5 | 15.1 |
Looking ahead, Piccadily is executing a structured expansion path with an estimated investment of Rs 10 bn over 3 years. This investment aims to increase capacity and increase the business by four times over the next three to five years.
The company is setting up a 210 KLPD distillery in Mahasamund, which is expected to commence operations in the second half of FY25. To expand its geographic footprint and provide quality Scottish malt, it is also establishing a malt distillery in Scotland. This plant is expected to be operational in FY27.
Piccadilly is also expanding its geographical presence. Its domestic market presence expanded to 28 States and UTs (up from 20) and is available in over 16,000 retail stores (up from 6,700) in FY25. Its international presence now spans 28 countries (up from 22).
#4 GM Breweries
Fourth on the list is GM Breweries.
GM Breweries manufactures and sells alcoholic liquor. It’s the largest country liquor manufacturer in Maharashtra, contributing 25-30% of the total excise duty for country liquor in the state.
The company’s brand image and customer loyalty have consistently remained strong, particularly in the Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar districts. It plans to leverage its brand image to expand into the interior districts of Maharashtra, utilising this additional capacity.
Its bottling plant in Virar has a processing capacity of 137.6 m bulk liters per annum of country liquor. Its plant utilisation rate stood at 55.7% in FY2025, leaving ample headroom to meet higher demand.
From a financial perspective, the company’s sales have grown at a CAGR of 9.9% over the last 5 years, while PAT has grown at a CAGR of 13.7%. Average RoE and RoCE stand at 15.7% and 19.7%, respectively.
Financial Performance
| Particulars | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
| Net Sales (Rs bn) | 1.9 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
| Sales Growth (%) | -28.2 | 62.4 | 28.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Net Profit (Rs m) | 801 | 934 | 999 | 1,515 | 1,290 |
| RoCE (%) | 19.8 | 20.0 | 19.3 | 22.1 | 17.1 |
| RoE (%) | 15.9 | 15.8 | 14.6 | 18.4 | 13.7 |
GM is recognised for introducing innovations in the country’s liquor segment, notably the introduction of 180 ml bottles and the popularisation of PET bottles. PET bottles accounted for about 93% of its total production and sales in FY25.
Looking ahead, the company doesn’t see any significant threats to its growth and market share in the coming years. GM estimates that its current capacity will meet demand for at least the next five years.
Moreover, in the near term, the company is expected to benefit from improving consumer demand, driven by increased disposable income following the recent tax restructuring.
#5 Globus Spirits
Fifth on the list is Globus Spirits.
Globus Spirits is one of India’s most integrated and future-ready spirits companies. It operates on a fully integrated model across two core segments: the manufacturing business, which produces Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA), ethanol and by-products, and the consumer business.
The company is one of India’s largest grain-based distillery companies, operating five distilleries, with an annual capacity of 301 m liters. The consumer business is Globus’ growth engine, comprising 22 brands that span the regular, prestige, & above (P&A) segments.
The regular brand includes three ‘Millionaire brands’, while P&A includes flagship brands like Dōaab (an Indian single malt), TERAI (India’s first-of-its-kind Dry Gin), Mountain Oak, and Brothers & Co.
Financial performance has been mixed. Sales have grown at a 7.8% CAGR over the last five years, while PAT has declined at a 15.1% CAGR during the same period.
Financial Performance
| Particulars | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
| Net Sales (Rs bn) | 7.9 | 8.1 | 13.9 | 16.8 | 15.5 |
| Sales Growth (%) | -26.2 | 3.2 | 71.4 | 20.5 | -7.6 |
| Net Profit (Rs m) | 1,408 | 1,873 | 1,222 | 960 | 219 |
| RoCE (%) | 31.9 | 33.2 | 19.8 | 11.1 | 7.0 |
| RoE (%) | 24.1 | 24.2 | 13.8 | 9.9 | 2.2 |
Looking ahead, driven by strong demand, the P&A segment is expected to reach EBITDA break-even by the end of FY26. It expects the segment to continue its strong growth momentum driven by distribution expansion and consumer-led innovation.
The regular segment is expected to grow at a faster pace in new markets, such as Uttar Pradesh (UP), over the medium term, driven by the currently small scale of operations in these regions.
The company estimates that capacity utilisation will reach historic levels of over 90% by the end of the year, up from 81% in Q1FY26.
Rapid growth in UP is expected to be driven by capacity expansion. A 100 KLPD multi-feed distillery plant is expected to be operational in the third quarter of FY26.
This facility is expected to reduce product costs by 13% for all brands sold in the state. Globus Spirit also aims to establish a strong position in the beer segment through its new joint venture, Globus ANSA, which launched Carib Beer in UP in Q1FY26.
Should Investors Consider Liquor Stocks?
The Indian liquor industry stands at an inflexion point, where growth is no longer just about scale, but about value creation through brand positioning, premiumisation, and operational efficiency.
The companies featured above reflect different stages of this transformation, from legacy players expanding into premium categories to regional manufacturers diversifying their portfolios and capacities.
While near-term challenges such as regulatory shifts and input cost volatility persist, the sector’s long-term growth drivers remain firmly intact.
However, instead of relying only on hype, it is necessary to carefully analyse the company’s fundamentals, including financial performance, corporate governance practices, and growth practices.
Happy Investing.
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