The Hindu Business Line : Beer: No more a seasonal drink?

COME rain or shine, Indians are enjoying the fizz of beer throughout the year. Market leader UB Group, which accounts for about 50 per cent of the beer sales in the country, saw its sales grow by 22 per cent during June-August this year compared with the corresponding period last year. The company sold over 21 million cases last year (between June-August) and the figure grew to over 25 million this year.

Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, the States that bore the brunt of the rains this year, have shown a growth of 34 per cent, 18 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, during the season compared with the same period last year. Andhra Pradesh did show some negative growth (about 1 per cent) in the June-October period this year compared with last year.

Beer may slowly cease to become a seasonal drink, point out industry experts. Says Mr UB Bhat, Director, UBB Management Consultants Pvt Ltd, who has been a consultant to the industry, "The reasons for this are many. The growth in sales could also be because of the consolidation of the market. The two lead players are now concentrating on brand building exercises." The industry has witnessed a fairly good growth this year, hovering around 10 per cent. This could be because of beer price stabilisation, which hitherto fluctuated a lot, according to Mr Bhat. Also, despite heavy rains, temperatures in India continue to remain high, thus even soaking Indians reach out for that bottle of beer.

However, Mr Shekhar Ramamurthy, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Breweries Division, UB Group, is cautious, "Though the growth this year has been strong, it still does not take away the fact that the monsoon has had some dampening effect on sales," he feels.

The country's beer market sells around 100 million cases every year, with about 40 per cent being sold during summer months (March-May).

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