You could call it the recession hangover. Indians have not been eating out with the same frequency as they once did. But to attract them back, food brands could bet big on the recent spike in the popularity of food and alcohol matching, according to a recent report released by research firm

Datamonitor.

Partnering with alcohol could be lucrative for food brands, particularly as this could set them apart from the competition. Also, if these firms can overcome their concerns and start emphasising the compatibility of their brands with alcohol, they will reap rewards, the research suggests.

“While awareness of food-alcohol pairing is still in its infancy in India, food service outlets would benefit more than packaged food brands in the short term. Both fine dining and quick service restaurants could capitalise on the growing appreciation for lighter beer brands in India, by incorporating combos of beer with various cuisines,” said David Bird, senior consumer analyst at Datamonitor.

Since Indians are showing a rising inclination to experiment with different cuisines, alcohol-food pairing could add an element of innovation to the process. This means premium beer brands like Tuborg and Budweiser could tie-up with pizzerias and burger chains like Dominos, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King to have menu combos of burger plus beer.

According to Bird, given the rapid increase in the number of sports bars in urban India, this could prove to be another channel with a huge potential for premium beer brands to promote their offerings, especially during major sporting events like the Indian Premier League (IPL), the cricket and football world cups, Formula 1 racing, among others.

The study found that 47 per cent of Indian consumers visited restaurants a lot less. The study was conducted among 1006 consumers. “Categories such as pasta, pizza, frozen food and other such areas which are relatively new to the Indian palette, could benefit from associating themselves with alcohol consumption occasions, or with time, even co-brand or market some concepts. The rationale behind this is that these new categories have cultural associations which are better researched in terms of alcohol pairing vis-a-vis traditional Indian cuisines,” explained Bird.

The research has shown that consumers who feel “educated” about matching food with alcohol are the most likely to buy premium brands or ethical products like organic foods. For example, 53 per cent of Indians who feel informed about food matching buy organic foods and drinks regularly.

Also, those food brands that partner with alcohol will find social media and smartphone apps important tools for creating awareness among consumers. For instance, Smirnoff India has over 1,15,000 members on Facebook. Such community pages help brands promote launches, musical and other sporting events that they sponsor, and hold contests.

“Four to five years down the line, apps which have cocktails recipes, give updates on latest brand launches and use location-based services to indicate the most-happening parties in an area, can potentially attract a lot of interest among consumers starting from those who have attained the legal age for drinking and going up to 35 years. This group is among the fastest growing demographics in India, and is the driving force behind the optimism in the alcoholic drinks market,” said Bird.