SAB Miller Launches Indus Prime in India

imageMore beer-news from one of the growing beer-markets globally…India.  SAB Miller is following AB-InBev’s Budweiser Magnum launch with Indus Prime.  This from AdAge:

To be sure, the beer market has a long way to go in a nation where local spirits brands have traditionally dominated. Annual beer consumption per capita is below two liters, which is a lot less than other Asian markets, such as China (more than 35 liters) and Hong Kong (22 liters), according to Euromonitor International. Yet consumption is growing faster than spirits and wine, and by the end of 2012 the beer market in India will account for almost half -- 46% -- of total alcoholic drinks volume sales, according to Euromonitor. (The Canadean Global Beverage Forecast pegs beer's share in India much lower, at 23% of total alcoholic beverages in 2012.)

India-based UB Group remains the dominant beer player by far with its Kingfisher brand, which has 46% volume share, according to Euromonitor. But Western brewers see promise in the expanding market.

The growth is driven by college-going young adults and professionals ages 18 to 40 who "consider it more fashionable to drink beer than consume brown spirits," the report stated. Also, more women are drinking beer. That's a major shift for a country where female drinking was once frowned upon. Indeed, Indian soap operas and Bollywood movies often show female villains drinking alcohol "as a reflection of their unattractive behavior," said Sunitha Barlota, a Euromonitor analyst. But acceptance is growing in urban areas, where educated women are drinking socially and bars are even hosting ladies' nights.

A lot of the attention is on India's "strong beer" segment, which generally refers to beers ranging from 5.1% alcohol by volume to 8%, and accounts for some 80% of the market, according to brewers. (Bud Light in the U.S. has 4.2% ABV.) But rather than talk about a beer's alcohol strength, SABMiller recently shifted strategy, using the tagline "strengthen your resolve" for its top-selling Indian brand, a strong beer called Haywards 5000. The message pushes the notion that people drink beer -- even strong beer -- to remain in control, vs., say, doing a shot of whiskey.

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