Super premium beer launches in India
India is a unique (strange would be a better word) beer market: Much like the country’s alcohol consumption trends regarding hard liquors, most of the beer sales in the country happens in strong beer segment. While product offerings and consumption in this segment have more or less remained the same, beer producers in the sub-continent have stepped on the pedal to diversify and expand their premium offerings in recent months in the light segment.
Although at a meager 2.6 % of the total 253 million cases the premium segment has ridiculously low volumes compared to some other big beer markets, producers are striving hard to outdo each other. The prospect of higher volumes plus higher profit margins in the premium segment are the prime motivation for the Indian brewers.
First to enter the fray, Heineken, ever since its India launch in August 2011, has been pursuing aggressive campaigns to corner a big share of the premium market. Positioned as a super-premium lager beer, Heineken was brought to India by India’s largest brewer, United Breweries. Brewed and bottled in India, this premium beer is priced in India’s capital at INR 80 (EUR 1.162) for 330 ml and INR 150 (EUR 2.178) for a 650 ml bottle. With 5 % abv, Heineken belongs in the light category in a market traditionally favouring high alcohol content, but the Dutch brand is confident of its success.
As Laurent Odinot, Heineken’s marketing manager for Asia Pacific, puts it: "We believe beer consumption habits will change in the long-run and would be led by health consciousness.”
SABMiller India has re-launched Indus Pride brand in India with major changes. Billed as one of the most expensive beers in Indian market at retail outlets, a 330 ml bottle is sold for INR 85 (EUR 1.234; the company’s super premium Peroni retails at INR 235 = EUR 3.412 a pint). It was introduced in the end of July in the cities of Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. The brand was initially introduced in the country in May 2008, but was subsequently withdrawn from many of the states. Till May 2012, it was available in the states of Karnataka and Rajasthan but more as a test marketing product.
Indus Pride is the first beer with Indian spices and would be initially available in four variants, Citrus, Coriander, Citrus Cardamom, Spicy Fennel and Fiery Cinnamon, according to a company statement by the Indian arm of SABMiller Plc.
SABMiller has a significant share in the strong beer segment in the country, but in the light segment it lags far behind the market leader United Brewery. Placed in light and super premium category, Indus Pride is looking to corner a big share in the segment, which has seen a slew of launches recently by all the beer majors in the country. SAB Miller’s other offerings in India are Haywards, KnockOut, Royal Challenge, Foster’s and Miller High Life and Peroni in the premium category.
Earlier in May, the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev unveiled Budweiser Magnum, positioning it among the highest-priced strong beer in India. An India-specific launch, Budweiser Magnum is priced at INR 150 (EUR 2.178) for a 650 ml bottle in the Western state of Maharashtra. A year earlier, Carlsberg had launched its super-premium strong beer Elephant, priced at INR 135 (EUR 1.96) for a 650 ml bottle in the state. AB-InBev’s other major brands such as Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe, are currently imported by the Indian arm.
Budweiser Magnum is a full-bodied, dark golden colored, American style lager beer, brewed using Budweiser’s exclusive beechwood aging process and is first rolled out in the four major metros – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, which cumulatively account for 22 % of the Indian beer market by volume.
