Business

Indian brands dominate Delhi’s liquor sales

By Sohail Khan 28 September 2026, 8:12 pm

Benchmarks
Nifty22,780.25-360.25

FEATURED FUNDS★★★★★

Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund Direct-Growth

5Y Return
20.4 %

Invest Now

Enter search text:

Business News›Industry›Cons. Products›Liquor›Indian brands dominate Delhi’s liquor sales: Nearly 18.61 crore bottles sold in two years; imported booze trails far behind

Read Today's Paper

Indian brands dominate Delhi’s liquor sales: Nearly 18.61 crore bottles sold in two years; imported booze trails far behind
Synopsis

Delhi liquor shops sold nearly 18.61 crore bottles across categories in the last two financial years, with Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) accounting for a much larger share than imported spirits. Data from an RTI reply showed overall liquor sales rising to around 9.61 crore bottles in 2025-26, while beer sales also increased, with summer months recording some of the highest volumes.

Delhi liquor shops sold nearly 18.61 crore bottles across categories over the last two financial years, with Indian-made spirits accounting for a much larger share than imported liquor, according to data obtained through an RTI application and accessed by PTI.

The data showed that liquor purchases increased in 2025-26, with total sales rising to around 9.61 crore bottles from nearly 9 crore bottles in 2024-25.

IMFL sales nearly 20 times higher than imported liquor

Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) remained far more popular than Imported Foreign Liquor (IFL) at Delhi Tourism department-run liquor outlets.

Diwali and Holi boost liquor sales

November 2025-26 saw a sharp rise in IMFL sales, coinciding with Diwali and several other festivals. Around 26.6 lakh bottles were sold in October, but the number jumped to nearly 42.3 lakh in November.

Holi also coincided with higher IMFL sales. Around 37.9 lakh bottles were sold in March 2025-26, compared with nearly 33.1 lakh bottles in March of the previous financial year.

Delhi Tourism currently runs 233 liquor shops offering 1,013 brands, giving consumers a wide range of options.

Beer sales peak during summer

Beer remained particularly popular during the warmer months. July 2024 recorded the highest monthly beer sales over the two-year period, with around 48.5 lakh bottles sold.

In July 2025, another 42.4 lakh beer bottles were sold through off-shop outlets.

Overall beer sales increased from around 3.51 crore bottles in 2024-25 to approximately 3.76 crore bottles in 2025-26, an increase of nearly 25 lakh bottles.

Beer sales also picked up during the second half of 2025-26. Between October and March, around 1.98 crore beer bottles were sold, compared with approximately 1.78 crore during the corresponding period a year earlier.

June records highest overall liquor sales in 2025-26

Several months recorded a significant rise in overall liquor sales during 2025-26.

April saw nearly 83.5 lakh bottles sold across categories, compared with about 69 lakh in April 2024-25. May recorded around 80.3 lakh bottles, against nearly 68.7 lakh a year earlier.

June emerged as the biggest month for overall liquor sales in 2025-26, with approximately 93.9 lakh bottles sold.

November also saw a substantial increase, with Delhi liquor shops selling nearly 83.9 lakh bottles across categories, compared with about 67.7 lakh in November 2024-25.

Imported spirits remain a small segment

Imported liquor continued to account for a relatively small portion of sales at Delhi's liquor outlets.

IFL sales stood at around 22.72 lakh bottles in 2024-25 and increased only marginally to approximately 23.3 lakh bottles in 2025-26.

Between April and September 2024-25, around 6.9 lakh IFL bottles were sold. The corresponding period in 2025-26 recorded nearly 9.9 lakh bottles.

January 2025-26, however, saw imported spirits sales fall to around 2.83 lakh bottles from nearly 3.72 lakh in the same month a year earlier. October also recorded a sizeable decline, while April witnessed a sharp rise.

Imported beer finds a larger market

Imported beer performed better than imported spirits in terms of sales volume.

Around 1.12 crore bottles of imported beer were sold in Delhi in 2024-25, with sales rising to nearly 1.14 crore bottles in 2025-26.

The data also showed stronger imported beer sales in the latter half of 2025-26, with October-March sales exceeding those recorded during the first six months of the financial year.

Overall, the RTI data points to a clear difference in purchasing patterns at Delhi's liquor outlets, with IMFL and beer accounting for much higher sales volumes than imported spirits.

Inputs from agencies

Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source
Add Now!

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The .)

…moreless

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

Read More News on
Delhi liquor salesDelhi liquor shopsliquor bottle sales in DelhiIMFL sales Delhiimported liquor sales DelhiDelhi alcohol salesbeer sales DelhiDelhi liquor consumptionDelhi Tourism liquor shops

(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The .)

…moreless

Enter search text:

Continue reading with one of these options:
Limited Access
Free
Login to get access to some exclusive stories

& personalised newsletters
Login Now

Unlimited Access
Starting @ Rs120/month
Get access to exclusive stories, expert opinions &

in-depth stock reports
Subscribe Now

Unlock Access to All Exclusives with ETPrime FREE TRIAL

15 Days Free: Unlock All ETPrime Exclusives, Market Tools & ePapers

Trial offer expiring in00 : 05 : 00

I'd rather pay ₹2599 now

Uh-oh! This is an exclusive story available for selected readers only.

Worry not. You’re just a step away.

Prime Account Detected!

It seems like you're already an ETPrime member with

Log out of your current logged-in account and log in again using your ET Prime credentials to enjoy all member benefits.

Unlock ETPrime's Exclusive Stories Today!

Subscribe to gain powerful insights on business, stock market and industry trends.

Big Price Drop! Flat 40% Off

Student Only Offer

Already a Member? Sign In now

Already a Member? Sign In now
Already a Member? Sign In now

Offer Exclusively For You

Save up to Rs. 700/-

ON ET PRIME MEMBERSHIP

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get Flat 40% Off

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

ET Prime at ₹ 49 for 1 month

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Special Offer

Get flat 40% off on ETPrime

Avail Offer
Avail Offer

Claim NowAlready a Member? Sign In now

Need Assistance?

Connect with an ETPrime expert for personalized support and guidance

+91 9484700004

' + h3 + '

' + h4 + '

' + listing + '

What’s Included with

ETPrime Membership

1Exclusive Insights That Matter

Uncover the truth with our investigative stories

Make strategic moves using the real-world case studies

Read industry-specific stories to identify emerging trends

Spot opportunities with in-depth insights that matter

Trump temper on H-1B visas is forcing Indians to do these things to stay put in US

What Adani’s US indictment means for India Inc’s overseas fundraising
Why veterans like Reliance, L&T are on acquisition spree? Aswath Damodaran has an answer.

Will China’s dollar bond sale in Saudi Arabia trump the US in financial world?
Huawei launches its own OS to compete with Google and Apple. But can it win beyond China?

The problem with lab grown diamonds
Why a falling rupee is a better option for the economy

A list of top 20 momentum stocks that have delivered massive returns in one year