Rise of craft beer in India

Abstract

The concept of local, independent brewers serving and/or bottling their own beers is less than a decade ago. This category has generated a lot of conversations, though the same may not reflect in their topline and bottom lines. But the rise in the numbers of brewpubs as well as indie craft beer manufacturer indicates that this may be more than just a fad and may actually be a reflection of the craft revolution, the beer industry is witnessing around the globe. The growth in this segment, has surpassed industry average of single digit growth, but the slow speed of scaling up of these craft brews within the country and the limited interest of institutional venture capital funds, tell a different story. We witness champions of this category in the form of Bira91, a sequoia backed craft beer manufacturer, which is now competing directly with the giants of the industry. There is also a local phenomenon of brewpubs serving the global craft moment in a mug and a pitcher but adjusting to the local tastes. The mainstream companies like United Breweries and AbInBev are verbose about the craft movement in India but believe there is more noise about it than substance and are focusing on continuing their strategy of serving the consumers with mainstream beers either from their global portfolio or by modifying their popular liquids to Indian tastes. Although it is still at nascent stage, there is a consensus on one thing – the Indian beer consumer is growing mature, acquiring new tastes, becoming open to new experiences and is no longer looking the get the best bang for his buck in terms of mere alcohol content of the beer. In the long run, we see the beer industry following the global phenomenon of products and services getting more personalized and localized offering more choices per price range.