If you cannot beat them …
“We have had an initial contact with AB-InBev, at which we talked about possibilities,” Carlsberg’s spokesman Jens Bekke was quoted as saying. He added, however, that there are no concrete plans.
He said possible cooperation in India could involve production, distribution or other activities.
Half of the relatively small Indian beer market is accounted for by India’s United Breweries, and roughly a third by the world’s number two brewer SABMiller, with other players struggling to get a foothold.
Indians drink on average one litre of beer per year. Beer production was in excess of 10 million hl in 2009.
Carlsberg has four breweries and 171 employees in India. AB-InBev has two co-packing agreements in place at Regent Breweries and Dassappa. Both plants are producing Tennents Super and Anheuser-Busch InBev Strong Beer. Dassappa is supplying the Bangalore market and Regent the New Delhi area. AB-InBev is also seeding Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe in various segments of the market, the brewer said. In July 2008 it took management control of Kool Brewery. AB-InBev says it has 30 employees.
The Indian beer market is currently fragmented; the central (21%) and southern (46%) states account for 67 percent, the main states in the north (including Delhi) account for 18 percent, the north east for 5 percent and the west for 7 percent. The rest represents 3 percent of beer consumption.
The market for strong beers is predicted to grow faster than that of milder beers because it is perceived as offering a value-for-money-alternative to spirits.
