India: Beer invasion on Indian market

Advertisement of global beer brands is beginning to sweep India, The Economic Times reported February 8. US beer giant Anheuser-Busch's (A-B) local JV partner Crown Breweries has moved to register the iconic Budweiser in domestic market. Also, Heineken's Singapore arm Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) has put up three of its international brands, including flagship Tiger, to be uncorked here.

This could be the global brewing industry's biggest brand push in India till date. Foster's and Castle Lager - both through the SABMiller stable - are the only two international brands present in the mainstream domestic beer market currently. The more successful Foster's became part of the SABMiller fold through an acquisition last year. Most of the global brewers - the line up includes A-B, APB, Carlsberg, Molson Coors - are working on their India strategy with domestic beer consumption zooming at 30% year-on-year.

Informed sources said A-B, through the local JV, would unleash Budweiser and Amstrong brands well in time for the summer season when consumption peaks in country normally. Budweiser is expected to hit the market - Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad initially - in April. The JV's other brand Amstrong, an India-specific product with higher alcohol content, could come as early as in March. Incidentally, the 50:50 JV decided on Amstrong after mulling introduction of Hurricane beer from A-B's global portfolio to step into the strong beer segment locally.

APB has registered three beer brands - Tiger, Anchor and Baron - from its international portfolio here. Tiger is the top name, with Anchor being the second-largest. It is learnt that APB is expected to roll out Anchor Pilsner and Tiger around summer even though there is no confirmation. When contacted, Vivek Chhabra, who has been spearheading APB's India business, said no dates have been finalised for the Tiger launch.

APB's other introduction, Baron, is a big brand in Singapore and is likely to tap the strong and stout beer segments in India. Incidentally, the stout beer category has seen some action in recent months with SABMIller coming out with Haywards Black Stout. APB is likely to begin the rollouts starting with Mumbai and Maharashtra given that it has acquired majority stake in Aurangabad Breweries. The Singapore brewer is also in control of two domestic brands - Cannon and Arlem - through this acquisition. Meanwhile, sources said A-B has roped in a Mumbai-based agency Trinity for creative duties. Trinity, sources added, edged out Contract Bangalore to win the mandate for Budweiser and Amstrong. APB has reportedly called for a pitch even though Bates Enterprise - due to Bates' association with the parent - could be in the reckoning.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .