India: Bira91 wants to be more Indian after 4 years of selling craft beer in the country

The British might have introduced European beer to India in the 18th century, but over the years, India has mastered the craft of the good ol’ beer. Today, Indian homegrown beer brands like Bira 91 have made their mark across the world. And that too, with an Indian twist, the Business Insider India reported on June 28.

Bira91, which in its name carries India’s country code - 91, introduced a new product called the Indian Pale Ale. “It’s a beer style that was imagined for India, that was shipped to India, that was created in India, and it’s redefined craft beer globally. So we have to connect back to that heritage,” said Ankur Jain founder, Bira91.

This new launch has Indian ingredients in it. “We’re adding the pomello, which is the mother of grapefruits everywhere and it’s Indian,” said Jain.

It is also lowering the Alcohol By Volume content to 4.5% from about 7%.

Four years since its launch, Bira91 is making Indians more accustomed to beer, but according to their own taste! It recently launched a beer for the Indian masses - Boom, which is available across 10 states in the country.

Bira91, which had its first brewery in Belgium in 2015, has been on a rapid expansion mode in India. It is currently present in the states of Karnataka, Delhi NCR, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

“There is a large focus from our side on tier 1 cities, tier 2 cities. So lot of our growth this year is expected to come from tier-2 cities,” said Jain.

With beer being India’s second-largest packaged beverage after carbonated drinks, it is fuelling the growth of Bira91. It is also one of the official sponsors of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Jain believes its female following will help drive sales. “I really think as consumption moves towards bars and restaurants, it is definitely going to be driven by females,” said Jain.

According to a Research and Markets report, the Indian alcohol market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% and is expected to reach 16.8 billion litres of consumption by the year 2022.

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