UK spirits brand Jatt Life is taking advantage of Britain’s new free trade agreement with India by undertaking a major launch of its award-winning luxury vodka across the country as part of a global expansion.
The West Midlands drinks firm has begun supplying its five-times filtered vodka into seven states across India, ready to capitalise on the reduction of import duties for UK-distilled premium spirits, which will be halved from 150% to 75% as part of the agreement, which is expected to come into force in March.
The move is just the first of a number of international launches being planned by Jatt Life this year as it seeks to ramp up its export business, with Canada, Thailand and the USA also on its radar for 2026.
Jatt Life was launched by Baz and Sunny Kooner in 2020, fulfilling a long-held dream to establish a luxury vodka which would draw on their Indian heritage and take on the long-established brands dominating the premium space.
Six years later, Jatt Life vodka, which is now famous for its sleek, black bottle, is available in five different flavours – original, forest fruits, lime zest, orange and pineapple, and vanilla bean.
Jatt Life, based in Dudley, also supplies its own premium Scotch whisky and a premium gin called Jatti Gin.
The expansion will see Jatt Life entering key metropolitan and high-growth regions across Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Gurgaon and Jalandhar.
Baz Kooner said plans are already in place to export its whisky to India later this year, and that the reaction from overseas customers to an Indian-inspired luxury vodka created in the UK has been “incredible”.
He said: “Jatt Life was created to embody everything that myself and Sunny aspire to in life and although getting to this stage has involved overcoming many challenges, the success of the brand over the past six years has totally matched our expectations.
“We’re proud of our Indian heritage and it’s long been an ambition of ours to supply Jatt Life to India, not least because it’s also a huge market that is growing all the time.
“We’ve been following the progress of the free trade agreement in the knowledge that it would create the perfect opportunity for us and have spent the past two years preparing by putting in place the infrastructure we need in order to meet the incredible demand.
“Seeing our bottles appearing on the shelves in India is incredibly exciting and we can’t wait to see people enjoying Jatt Life in the USA, Canada and Thailand too.”
The Indian spirits market is currently valued at £40 billion, with projections to reach £49 billion by 2028, driven by factors such as a young, rapidly growing middle class, increasing disposable incomes, and evolving lifestyle choices.
It has overtaken France to become the UK’s largest market for Scotch whisky, with India importing 219 million 70cl bottles of Scotch each year.
Under the trade agreement, import duties on premium spirits, including vodka and whisky, will be halved from 150% to 75%, with further reductions planned to bring tariffs down to 40% over the next decade.
For more information visit www.jatt-life.com
