In India, it’s small beer

Beer seems to be on the upswing in India. Are we becoming a beer-guzzling nation quietly?

_ Romesh P. Thakur, Delhi

Romesh, summer is really here for sure. The beer questions are coming in!

If you ask me if India is becoming a beer-guzzling nation, I would say not really. Whisky still remains the preferred drink of alcoholic India. The per capita consumption of beer stands at 1.6 litres per year. Compare this to 39 litres in neighbouring China and 78 litres in the US.

The fact is that there are complete alcoholic beverages, semi-alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages These come in both the hot and cold serve forms. A hot-serve form would be tea, coffee, malted beverages and more. The cold-serves are beverages such as pure fruit juices, fruit pulp options and carbonated soft drinks. Add to the cold options home-brewed beer, microbrewery beers, factory beers and, of course, completely alcoholic beverages such as whisky, vodka and their cousins.

Different countries have different views of these beverages. While the non-alcoholic beverages are considered staple, alcoholic beverages are considered upper-end and frivolous. India has always viewed the alcoholic beverage (in recent centuries) as frivolous. Such drinks, therefore, have low penetration and low volumes. China, on the other hand, has considered home-brewed beers of rice and wheat and other plant origins to be basic. This has helped it to achieve larger per capita volumes. The US, of course, is at the lead end of consumption of beers, as beer is literally a daily habit, rather than a monthly treat.

In most deep-volume markets for beers, if you are drinking beer, you are not considered to be drinking alcohol at all. India is different on that count. If you are drinking beer, you must be an alcoholic! If not, worse!

The new Frooti campaign is different. Does it work?

_ Mahima Chandra, Bhubaneswar

Mahima, the campaign is certainly clutter-breaking and different. It breaks the ennui of current advertising tone, tenor and decibel. It tells the story loud and clear, it creates appetite appeal and the music does it all effortlessly.

Shah Rukh Khan does to the Frooti appetite what Katrina did to Slice, but with a difference. This TVC is focused on thirst and appetite, and does not need the language of sensuousness of mango at all. It surpasses it all.

The element of humour is really all visual and the story-telling effect of this TVC is big. Bigger than what Frooti has ever had in its advertising kitty over all these decades of being around and fighting in this market.

Frooti's big strength is the fact that it has been around for donkey’s years. It has become generic to the category altogether. Frooti is the Dalda of vansapati. In many ways, even without saying mango anywhere, Frooti talks the language of mango. In many ways, in the Indian market the word mango can be replaced with Frooti seamlessly. This is a strength and a weakness as well.

Let’s see how this summer treats Frooti.

Is Brand Bangalore diluted today? What’s gone wrong with it?

_ Caroline Vaz, Bangalore

Caroline, thanks for asking this Bangalore question of me. I live here, and this is a city I love, and a city I have watched grow along with me.

Bangalore today is a delightful amalgam. Of the young and the old. Of the rich and the poor. Of the hungry and the satisfied. Of the greedy and the totally satiated.

This amalgam is a healthy mix of people from all over India, and indeed of peoples from all over the world at large. We boast of the largest expatriate population in India which has made Bangalore its home. We talk of Bangalore being a start-up capital as well, in the same breath. There must be something right going on here, amidst all the chaos and brand dilution we speak about.

There really is.

Amidst all the issues that relate to inadequate infrastructure, poor governance, long lead times for government projects to hit the ground, and more, it is individual effort that has made all the difference here.

While the political and bureaucratic class has continued debating issues and talking the talk, it is individuals with a fire in their belly that have made a difference. These are the ones who have walked the talk. At times, alone, but to the benefit of the eco-system of Bangalore at large. Bangalore's entrepreneurial eco-system is all about an attitude.

An attitude that respects ideas. An attitude that is willing to back the maddest of mad ideas. This attitude is adventurous enough, and is willing to walk up a dead-end in search of the next new big idea as well. The beauty of the Bangalore start-up eco-system is that it is not cynical in mindset. As yet. The Bangalore start-up eco-system is all about the power of ideas, the resilience of attitude, the beauty of innovation and the spirit of wanting to walk the talk. And I can go on and on. But will not.

(Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor

Consults Inc. >askharishbijoor@gmail.com )

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