The foreign beer brands India loves

Indians have always loved beer. What's changing is the type of beer we love. Local brews are slowly making way for foreign brands, and this is what's taking the market to a new high.

According to former Carlsberg India managing director Pradeep Gidwani, who owns The Pint Room, imported brews will do to the market what Café Coffee Day and Barista did to south Indian filter coffee.

He says people are willing to spend a few extra bucks for a place with the right ambience and good beer, just the way they spend extra for a cup of coffee at a café. In fact, beer bars serving imported brew are likely to do better than cafes simply because people usually have only one or two cups of coffee, while appetite for beer is much larger.

There are close to 300 establishments in the country that sell only foreign beer. India's imported beer market currently stands at 3-4 lakh cases annually, and is growing at 40-50 per cent every year. Around 35 brands have entered the country in the last 18 months.

Beer constitutes 20 per cent of India's total alcohol consumption, and imported beer forms a miniscule 0.04 per cent of this. Over half of India's beer market is controlled by the UB Group, while SAB Miller, which markets Foster's, controls 30 per cent. Carlsberg and regional brands make up the rest.

However, a 100 per cent import duty along with state duty, excise and VAT makes the cost of a pint prohibitively high. The average cost of imported beer at a pub is Rs 400-600 a pint, while local brews are much cheaper at less than Rs 200.

The growing interest in foreign brands is forcing market leaders to widen their portfolio. SAB Miller recently launched Indus Pride, a spiced beer, while Kingfisher is also planning to come up with new launches.