“We are planning a diet vodka, probably under Romanov,” Vijay Rekhi, president of USL, told ET. He said the market response to McDowell diet whisky — DietMate — has been encouraging.

The diet whisky sells about 10,000 cases monthly in Maharashtra, which translates to roughly 10% of No.1 McDowell whisky’s monthly sales in the state. USL’s flagship whisky sells over 6 million cases annually across India.

USL’s diet portfolio is seen as part of the product innovations the company plans to uncork in the future. Its diet whisky, arguably the world’s first, is not a low-alcohol, low calorie offering, but has ingredients — like ancient Indian herb Garcenia — that lead to enhanced metabolism.

The move to launch diet vodka could be interesting as vodka mainly has a young consumer base, said an industry source. USL, riding on the back of brands like Romanov, White Mischief and Alcazar, dominates the domestic vodka market with 80-85% share of the consumption estimated at 3m cases annually.

Meanwhile, United Spirits is also likely to hit the market with an international energy drink brand, which would be locally made under a licensing deal. There’s a growing trend of vodka consumption mixed with energy drinks like
Red Bull, for instance.

The diet products, especially in the soft drinks category, which peaked in the western markets almost two years ago, has been slowly gaining ground in the local market.

Cola giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi have begun supporting its diet portfolio in a big way even though they account for only 1% of their overall volume. United Spirits ended the last financial year with 59.4 million cases in an overall IMFL market that was pegged at 134-138m cases.