After struggling for years to make inroads into the Indian market, the world’s second largest beer company, SABMiller has decided to promote its premium brand Foster’s as its mainstream product.
“Foster’s has an international pedigree, consumers believe in it and, therefore, it captures the need of the masses,” SABMiller India Director for Marketing, Darioush Afzali, told Business Line .
SABMiller, which has mostly grown through acquisitions in India, has seven brands, including three international brands. Last year, the company had said it would invest ₹440 crore into its Indian operations to expand capacity and launch new brands.
But the company has not been able to grow its share in the ₹12,000-crore market. At one point, its share was about one-third of the market, while that of its competitor, United Breweries, was about 45 per cent. While UB has increased its share to about 55 per cent, SABMiller’s has slipped to less than 25 per cent.
Afzali said the company is now growing strongly and has a differentiated portfolio of brands, which caters to every need of the consumers. However, Foster’s will not be marketed at the expense of other brands. “Majority of consumers opt for domestic brands. Beer has a very local touch. Haywards 5000 and Knock Out will continue to be there for a long time to come,” he said.
“International brands’ size is still small. We will ensure that the domestic brands continue to be relevant, continue to have high quality, but there will be people who want to try international brands, and we want to be able to offer our consumers both the choices.” An Australian brand, Foster’s was the first international brand launched in India, but it is now being promoted more aggressively in the market as an “extra cold” beer. The company has imported sub zero fridges for this purpose to be distributed to retailers. Foster’s has been priced higher than other brands.
Afzali, whose earlier assignment was in South Africa for SABMiller, pointed out that not all the 28 states are profitable for the company. However, SABMiller was satisfied with the growth of its business in India. Currently, the company owns 10 breweries across states and has four more on contract basis and further investments will happen depending on how the market is growing.