The Hindu Business Line : Super premium beer brand Carlsberg setting up 2 units

New Delhi, Nov. 14 Denmark headquartered global premium beer brand Carlsberg is in the process of setting up two greenfield manufacturing units in India.

“We are setting up two new beer manufacturing units in Alwar, Rajasthan and Aurangabad in Maharashtra,” said Mr Joakim Sande, Marketing Director, South Asia Breweries Pvt Ltd. Both the facilities will have a capacity of 4.5 lakh hectolitres each per annum. “Both plants will become operational between the first and second quarter of 2008 calendar year,” he added.

The two units will primarily manufacture Carlsberg super premium beer as well as Palone, the company’s mass segment strong beer. While Carlsberg will be a category creator, being the only super premium beer in India, Palone will be fighting it out with stalwarts such as Kingfisher and Haywards in the domestic market.

The company has also recently signed a joint venture with West Bengal-based Parag Breweries, to manufacture both Carlsberg and Palone, having a capacity of 1.5 lakh hectolitres per annum. “Though Carlsberg will be our primary focus area, we also realise the immense potential in the mass segment. Therefore, we decided to launch Palone as well,” said Mr Sande. While Palone is priced at par with its competitors Kingfisher and Haywards, Carlsberg is priced 50 per cent above the mainstream beer prices.

The domestic beer market is growing at 15-20 per cent currently and the company expects it to double in the next five years.

Carlsberg, which sells across 150 countries globally, is celebrating its 160th year and as a part of its strategy hopes to focus in the developing markets in Asia. In India, it is currently selling in the Delhi-NCR region through its acquired brewery facility in Himachal Pradesh that has a capacity of 1.5 lakh hectolitres per annum. The next phase of the company’s roll-out plans is to make the brand available in the major metros by the end of 2008.

In India, Carlsberg operates through South Asia Breweries. The company has a 100 per cent foreign direct investment, and is a joint venture between Carlsberg Breweries, IFU (Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries) and a group of investors.

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Super premium beer brand Carlsberg setting up 2 units