French spirits giant Pernod Ricard is doubling down on premiumisation, led by flagship brand Blenders Pride in India, the world’s largest whisky market by volume, a critical growth engine for the company even as mature markets show signs of demand moderation.

Debasree Dasgupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Pernod Ricard India, who recently returned to lead marketing for one of the company’s largest markets, said India is at a fundamentally different stage from the West. “India is blessed with its demographic dividends... the penetration of the category is still not as deeply penetrated,” she told businessline, pointing to roughly 30 million consumers crossing the legal drinking age in India every year.

While younger consumers globally are drinking less, Dasgupta said India’s young cohort are not category rejecters. They are, however, trading up — a dynamic that plays directly to the company’s premium portfolio, led by Blenders Pride, which holds over 50 per cent market share in its segment, and Royal Stag and 100 Pipers.

Dasgupta identified three priorities shaping her India mandate: strengthening the cultural relevance of the company’s legacy brands for the next generation, driving premiumisation, and building marketing talent. India, she said, has “an extraordinary pool of marketing talent.”

Consumption patterns are also shifting in ways the company is tracking closely. More casual hangouts, home dining, the rise of third spaces, and an emerging cocktail culture are reshaping drinking occasions. “Our job is to ensure that we understand the trends, we have a pulse on the ground,” Dasgupta said, adding that the company is actively leaning into the festival and concert economy to stay present where consumers are.

On smaller pack formats — gaining traction industrywide — Dasgupta said accessibility matters both for category entry and for enabling consumers to trade up across price segments without a large outlay.

On the long-running question of a potential Pernod Ricard India IPO, Dasgupta said the conversation has been around for “five, six, seven years” but that there is “nothing definitive” at this stage.

It is against this backdrop that Blenders Pride launched ‘The One And Only’, its newest campaign featuring models Avanti Nagrath, Kirandeep Chahal, and Mahieka Sharma — a 360-degree push across digital, outdoor, and print, including a placement during the ICC T20 World Cup. The campaign, Dasgupta said, is built around the idea that while success has become visible and crowded, distinction remains rare — and is designed to extend beyond advertising into fashion and lifestyle through the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour.

For Pernod Ricard India, success over the next three to five years looks straightforward on paper: keep the market leader relevant for the next generation of drinkers. Executing that, in a market this dynamic, is the harder part.

Published on March 20, 2026