India: Carlsberg to add 2-3 breweries in India to grow market share

Carlsberg, the world's third largest brewer, plans to open up to three new breweries in India to bolster its supply chain capabilities in this growing market, said chief executive Jacob Aarup-Andersen, The Economic Times reported on May 3.

The maker of the eponymous brand and Tuborg currently has seven breweries in India. It recently committed '350 crore for a new facility in Mysuru, Karnataka. Through these initiatives, Carlsberg would seek to further grow its Indian market share from the current 25%. It had an 18% share just about two years ago.

"We are in the process of finalising a number of supply chain projects at the moment. You would also expect to see more greenfield projects come on stream in the coming years in India," Aarup-Andersen said on a call with investors. "So, we are not sitting on our hands, and we would expect that in the coming years, you will see two to three new brewery additions in India."

At six million hectoliters per year, India accounts for about 5% of Carlsberg Group's total volume. One hectolitre is equivalent to 100 litres.

India-a warm, tropical country with promising demographics and increasing affluence-is one of the world's largest beer markets. United Breweries, majority owned by Heineken, currently controls half of the Indian beer market.

Carlsberg entered the Indian market in 2007 through a joint venture with Nepal-based Khetan Group though it was embroiled in a commercial conflict with its partner for the past several years. Last fiscal, the Danish brewer bought out Khetan Group's stake to currently own 100% of the Indian venture and said it will step up investments in India-both in terms of capital spending, and sales and marketing.

"We feel confident that we have the broad capacity we need in terms of the supply we get from-the capacity we get from our co-packer partners across the states. But we have historically had quarters where we've seen rapid demand increase in certain states where we didn't have the co-packer capabilities. And, of course, that can happen going forward," noted Aarup-Andersen.

For alcobev products, India, in particular, offers very attractive growth opportunities supported by favourable demographics, with an estimated 800 million people of legal drinking age and around 20 million people entering this cohort every year. While not everyone consumes alcohol, there are still an estimated 140 million people in the beer-drinking population. Growing urbanisation, increasing penchant for dining out, and a rising share of women beer drinkers is driving this market.

However, India remains a complicated market for companies to run operations. Alcohol sales are restricted. There are only around 90,000 outlets across India with permission to sell alcohol, and rules are set by individual states, resulting in varied market and tax structures, including import and export duties between states. The marketing of alcohol is also heavily regulated.

India is also traditionally a spirits market with high alcohol by volume (ABV) products accounting for around two-thirds of alcohol consumption. However, the market is experiencing increasing popularity of low-alcohol products-mainly beer. The beer market is largely driven by strong beers, with around 80% of market volumes comprising beer with ABV between 5% and 8%. Carlsberg sells strong beer brands Carlsberg Elephant and Tuborg Strong.

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