India: Australian Foster’s plans expansion in India

Foster's brewery from Australia is researching for "brewing opportunities" in India. Mr Pradeep Gidwani Managing Director said on September 19 to AFX:"We are looking to scale up operations in India and thus are interested in either setting up another brewery or acquire an existing one".

"We have built a foundation in India and are now looking at closing gaps and expand to newer markets such as Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and north-eastern states," Mr Gidwani stated.

The company, selling the flagship brand Foster's in India introduced also another beer brand 'Amberro' last year, and has its manufacturing facility at Aurangabad which has a capacity to produce up to six million cases per annum. "Foster's today is the number one premium international beer brand in India and we are a very strong player in the mild beer market," Mr Gidwani said.

The Indian beer market, dominated by Vijay Mallya's UB group which has a commanding 51 % share, is estimated to be around 85 million cases annually. Of this, the mild beer market is around 30 million cases while the rest is with the strong beers.

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