India: United Breweries completes registration of lease deed for new brewery in Uttar Pradesh

United Breweries Ltd (UBL), part of the Heineken Company, announced on November 21 that it has completed the registration of the lease deed for a greenfield brewery in Uttar Pradesh, backed by an investment of Rs 750 crore, according to the company filing on exchanges.

The development plot has been allotted by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) in the Unnao district. The brewery is expected to become operational by Q2 FY27. In its first phase, the new greenfield facility will have a proposed capacity of 1.3 million hectolitres (mhl), with a packaging mix of 70 per cent cans and 30 per cent bottles, and is designed with built-in flexibility for future expansion.

This expansion will be financed through debt and equity, it said in its exchange filing.

“As part of our commitment to shaping the future of the beer industry, this strategic investment in Uttar Pradesh will enable us to unlock long-term growth. UP is a high-potential market, driven by its massive population, rapid urbanisation and strong government focus on infrastructure development,” said a spokesperson at UBL.

“From a beer industry perspective, the state offers a significant opportunity with low per capita beer consumption, ample room for premiumisation and increasingly favourable policies. By establishing our greenfield brewery, we are securing a sustainable supply of our brands and positioning ourselves to meet evolving consumer demand in this key region,” added the spokesperson.

Furthermore, UBL noted that the proposed facility will produce both mainstream and premium brands, including Heineken, with capabilities for both cans and bottles. This milestone strengthens the Bengaluru-based brewer’s manufacturing footprint, expands capacity and supports long-term growth plans in India.

In September, UBL told Business Standard that it aims to grow about 30 per cent in its premium segment every quarter. In the premium segment, the beer maker said it is sharpening its portfolio by focusing on select brands. Looking ahead, the brand outlined plans to scale up, noting that it is working to localise select brands while expanding its manufacturing footprint.

In early September, UBL had commenced production of its flagship brand Kingfisher at the leased Ilios Brewery in East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, with a monthly capacity of up to 4.5 lakh cases. Further, the beer maker is set to enter the canned beer segment in Telangana with a Rs 90 crore investment to establish a new canning line at its Nizam Brewery. The facility, expected to become operational within a year, will add 0.4 million hectolitres of capacity.

With the newly leased brewery, UBL has about 19 owned breweries and 17 contractual base breweries. The breweries are in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.