India: AB InBev, Heineken launching non-alcoholic beer to compete with soft drinks makers

Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken, the world’s biggest brewers, are launching non-alcoholic beer of their flagship brands in India that will compete with beverages of cola giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo on supermarket shelves and restaurants, the Economic Times reported on June 28.

United Breweries (UB), controlled by Heineken, is launching Heineken 0.0, a zero-alcohol version of the beer brand, while AB InBev will roll out Budweiser 0.0 next week across the country.

“There is a movement towards consuming less of carbonated sugary drinks and a need for a non-alcoholic cold refreshment in a country like ours,” said Shekhar Ramamurthy, managing director at UB which launched its first non-alcoholic beer brand Kingfisher Radler last year in Gujarat, a state where making, selling and drinking alcohol is banned since 1960.

“Adults, aged above 16-17 years, perhaps have moved out of the carbonated soft drinks category and are seeking something less sugary for refreshment,” he said.

While beer contains 1.2% to 8% alcohol by volume (ABV), non-alcoholic beer mostly has 0.05% or less ABV.

Zero alcohol beers also tend to be more profitable in the country because beer is subject to high taxes that make up for more than half the retail price.

Alcohol is prohibited in Bihar, Gujarat and Nagaland, besides the union territory of Lakshadweep.

While brewers look to enter such prohibitive and completely untapped markets with zero-alcohol beer, their new launches are also driven by changing consumption trends and rising demand from teenagers due to stringent laws on drinking age.

“Beer is a drink of moderation and our objective is to offer our consumers various choices to enjoy beer freely and responsibly,” said Ben Verhaert, president – South Asia at AB InBev. “Many don’t drink alcohol because of religion and abstinence. We want to be inclusive.”

AB InBev will import Budweiser 0.0 from China and will roll it out across urban centres including Gujarat, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.

AB InBev, which sells Budweiser, Hoegaarden and Beck's brands in the low or no-alcohol space, has a global mission to have 20% of its total sales from such products by 2025, up from about 8% now.

Globally, non-alcoholic beer market is projected to surpass $25 billion by 2024, according to a research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. In India, such products account for less than 1% of the overall beer market.

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