Alcobev companies in India are increasingly adopting technologies including AI for outcomes like analysing consumer behaviour and sales optimisation by identifying high-potential outlets. Industry players said they rely on AI tools to forecast sales, understand market trends and tailor marketing efforts.

Simon De Beauregard, Chief Transformation Officer, Pernod Ricard India, explained that for consumers to find the right brand for the right occasion, at the right place, the company wants to ensure they are targeted and are targeting as well. “Technology and AI come into the mix to help us. We’ve been pursuing Data and AI acceleration for the past four years. Different ways for us to use AI include analysing millions of data points on any given initiative and extracting valuable information and insights. AI also helps us with prediction and forecasting. For example, if we do a marketing campaign in-store, we can forecast the return on sales and deep dive later.”

Digital programmes

Three initiatives of the company’s key digital programmes in India are Maestria, Matrix, and D-star. Maestria, a portfolio strategy programme, can map consumers and brands out. “We have the consumer demand map in mind because we don’t believe they buy a category and instead, are buying for a moment. We want to understand those moments, and as such, have been interviewing around 18,000 consumers to ask them the W’s — what were you having, with whom, where, and so on. Going through millions of data points, AI helps us map those moments, size them out and place our brands in the right spot,” Beauregard noted.

Matrix, a marketing performance initiative, uses data points to ensure marketing investments are more precise and impactful. In India, Pernod Ricard applies it to in-store investments. The company focuses on areas like visibility, sampling and value-added packs. By analysing data from its own sales, competitor sales, and expenditures, among other factors, it gains a comprehensive view, allowing it to accurately determine the return on sales for Brand ‘X’ based on its visibility efforts.

Another digital programme, D-star, is a sales execution strategy tool that gives the commercial team the viability to identify the right outlet with the greatest potential for a particular brand. For example, in West Bengal, Pernod Ricard used the D-Star tool to identify an opportunity for more consumption of Ballantine’s, the company’s Scotch whiskey segment.

“We noticed there would be more appetite for that segment. The commercial team used the insights produced by the tool to go to the right accounts and explain there would be more potential for Ballantine’s. Up to 30 per cent of the stores they pitched to, took the brand into the store. It’s a concrete way to understand trends and ensure we have the right brand in the right place.”

Amar Sinha, Chief Operating Officer of IMFL brand Radico Khaitan, stated the company has adopted technology across multiple business functions, utilising cloud-based solutions to improve efficiency and connect with stakeholders more effectively. “By integrating advanced analytics, IT security and ERP systems, we have strengthened our operations, from supply chain optimisation to automation in various manufacturing processes. Technology has helped us gain real-time insights into market trends, consumer preferences and compliance requirements. Compared to the past, integrating these advanced tools has greatly enhanced our agility, streamlined operations, and enabled us to respond more swiftly to the ever-changing market demands,” he said.

The company has launched over 15 premium brands over the recent years. The change in consumer demands, and shift in trend is noted and analyzed by Radico’s AI-powered tools which have influenced its inventory management, production decisions, and marketing strategies.

Digital marketing

Another liquor giant, Diageo India, echoed this sentiment. Amitabh Pande, the company’s EVP of strategy, Consumer Planning & Digital Transformation, said, “We continue to deploy technology across different functions like supply, sales, and commercial. In marketing, we leverage technology across key areas like digital marketing. For example, our platform the in.thebar.com is a category-out platform for users to engage with category-related interests using content, ideas, recipes, and interactive AI-based interfaces. This has resulted in a 10x increase in our visits to the website, a 10x increase in organic traffic, great bounce rates and website metrics, a 3x increase in time spent on our website and engagement rates, all at a 50 per cent reduction in costs.”

According to an analysis by International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR), The Whisky Exchange used AI to design labels for a luxury collection of 12 bottles of The Glenlivet 50-year-old single malt. Similarly, Germany’s Katlenburger Winery introduced NanoFizz, reportedly Europe’s first AI-generated ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail. The company used AI to name the product, develop its recipe, and design the packaging. However, the expertise of specialist fruit winemakers was still involved.

AI is also being integrated into new product development (NPD) processes. Last year, Sapporo Breweries collaborated with IBM Japan to create N-Wing Star, an AI system designed to develop new products. By analysing approximately 1,200 product formulations and 700 raw materials from 170 existing products, the system developed Otoko Ume Sour Salty Plum, a 5 per cent ABV canned carbonated RTD cocktail. Reportedly, using AI reduced time spent on various aspects of NPD by 50–75 per cent.