When the Indian arm of a global spirits giant takes a 15 per cent stake in a startup creating non-alcoholic beverage, and a year and a half later ups the stake to 25 per cent, it makes one take notice. In June 2024, Diageo India (USL) invested in alcohol-free drinks producer V9 beverages, known for its brand Sober, and in January this year it increased the investment.
The alcohol market in India — valued at roughly $39.7 billion — has seen growing consumption across categories with a steady overall CAGR of 3–4 per cent, though premium products have grown faster. Diageo has been upping its focus on premiumisation, but why invest in non-alcohol?
No-alcohol, no-sugar Picante from Sober
Explains Praveen Someshwar, MD and CEO, Diageo India, “As consumer preferences evolve, demand for moderation-led choices and premium zero-proof experiences continues to grow. This fast-growing category complements our core business, and our increased investment in Sober reflects our confidence in its future potential.”
On a hot summer evening, one meets Vansh Pahuja, the 32-year-old founder of Sober, at his bar Somewhere Nowhere in Delhi’s GK2 market. It’s a concealed bar in true speakeasy style, with a hidden entrance and an amazing vibe. Pahuja is excited as he has just launched a ready-to-drink canned non-alcoholic version of the cocktail Picante. “It’s zero-sugar, zero-calories, zero-alcohol — globally people have done non-alcoholic Picante, but with sugar. This is the first without sugar,” he says. But he is quick to add that it is not promoted as healthy. “Rather I would call it ‘mindful’,” he says.
Sober non-alcoholic drink
Is there a big enough market for non-alcoholic spirits? After all, the consumer can simply drink juice or cola or abstain? Pahuja says there are many who enjoy a tipple, but cannot drink for medical reasons — he cites his father and a pregnant friend. This prompted him to explore the category.
Pahuja grew up in Delhi, went to Boston for higher studies (a course in marketing innovation at Northeastern University) and found a job in GE but returned when his maternal grandfather died. “My mom called me back,” he says, adding, “I also wanted to start restaurants and bars here.” He started a pizza chain called Baked, which was modelled on the Subway concept — customers could build their own pizza, health-conscious ones choosing whole wheat or cauliflower crust with toppings of their choice.
This was in 2019, and soon Covid and lockdown happened, and the outlets had to be closed. Around this time, he was introduced to Aditya Aggarwal, founder of craft gin brand Sasra Gin, who mentioned how excise duties vary from State to State, alongside various other policy hurdles. That’s when Pahuja jokingly floated the idea of a non-alcoholic product. But upon reflection, he realised it had a market. Aggarwal came in as a 10 per cent shareholder and manufacturing partner, says Pahuja. They started with 600 bottles of zero-alcohol gin to test the market and sold out within a month.
How does it taste like gin without alcohol? There are two ways to do it, responds Pahuja. One is by using the same formulation as for gin, with all the botanicals, but with water as the base instead of ethanol. The other way is to make regular gin and then remove the alcohol, which is an expensive process and the reason why imported non-alcoholic brands did not take off in India.
Currently, Sober has a range that includes non-alcoholic whiskey, gin, pink gin, rum, red wine and white wine, apart from sodas and tonic water.
Contrary to perception, Pahuja says it is not Gen Z but an older set that is consuming non-alcoholic drinks. “We sell to people who enjoy their drink, but drink in moderation,” he says.
With the Diageo investment, Pahuja has his scale-up plans ready. “We want to be a household name for everything non-alcoholic. So we want to grab you at a ₹60 price point with our sparkling water. If you want to pour sparkling water into a glass and add lime to it, we have that. We upgrade you a little bit when you say you like gin and tonic... and so on.” Sober is available in the top 100 bars in the country, says Pahuja. High on growth, Sober is ready to pour, changing how India drinks.
Published on May 25, 2026