 "Beer majors brew it strong")
United Breweries Limited (UBL) crossed the benchmark of 100-million cases of beer sold in 2009-10; two years later, in 2011-12, its brand 'Kingfisher', which straddles various forms of beer, achieved the same; in the year after, it was the turn of Kingfisher's strong beer portfolio to reach the milestone. The year 2013-14 may well see the brand called 'Kingfisher Strong', launched in 1999, within striking range of having sold as many as 100 million beer cases.
"Kingfisher Strong, which notched up sales of 80 million cases in 2012-13, has built up a strong brand recall. Whenever anyone asks for Kingfisher beer, Strong is the one which comes to the table. It is almost synonymous. Indians have traditionally been partial to a stronger brew and we are riding on this wave," says Samar Singh Sheikhawat , senior VP (marketing), United Breweries.
Kingfisher Strong was launched to cater to the growing number of strong beer consumers in the country. It is both the largest and the fastest growing beer brand in the country and has been instrumental in growing volume sales and profitability of UBL. "Kingfisher Strong combines the taste and quality of Kingfisher in a strong beer and is positioned on a similar platform as the mother brand - Kingfisher. The tagline to communicate the positioning is 'Same Taste, Extra Dum'," adds Sheikhawat.
Apart from Strong, Kingfisher plays in the strong beer portfolio with other brands such as Kingfisher Red, and the regional UB Export Strong, Kalyani Black Label Strong, Bullet, Cannon 10000, London Pilsner and Zingaro. "While Kingfisher Strong has been growing, we keep on innovating. Kingfisher Red, a relatively new brand of beer, with a woody flavour, has crossed the one-million mark within two years of its launch," Sheikhawat informs.
The Indian beer industry sells around 270 million cases a year, and UBL, with its wide portfolio, sells close to 150 million of those cases.
The strong beer segment accounts for as much as 83 per cent of the overall market, and is growing at 18 per cent every year.
Kingfisher's strong beer portfolio constitutes close to 50 per cent of its category, while UBL's arch-rival SABMiller makes up close to 30 per cent, according to industry sources. The mild beer segment has been static by contrast.
SABMiller India is also pulling out all stops to deliver its knock-out punch in strong beer. "In the strong beer segment, we have iconic brands such as Haywards 5000 and Knock Out. To boost our brand portfolio, we have also introduced a stronger variant of Foster's in key states and Royal Challenge Strong in both 650ml and new 250ml packs in southern India. Both the new brands are getting an encouraging response from consumers in these key markets," says Darioush Afzali, marketing director, SABMiller India.
Both the beer majors depend on high decibel campaigns across various platforms to further sales. UBL had been riding high on the flavour of the season - the IPL, which concluded last Sunday. "We have a tightly-integrated marketing platform which talks to people across fashion shows, music, Bollywood, food promotions, F1 racing and of course, cricket. Each of these properties is taking our brand recall higher. Among various events, on an average, we sponsor close to 15,000 of our loyal customers to IPL matches in every season," sheikhawat explains.
SABMiller's strong beer portfolio saw double digit volume growth last year. "During the last year, the volume growth of Knock Out has exceeded the beer industry growth by a large margin. This growth has mainly come from market share gains in both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Haywards 5000 has also grown faster than the beer industry, gaining market share in its key markets in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra. Having said that, our focus is not on driving just one brand, but building a portfolio of brands," Afzali adds.
In addition to Haywards 5000, Knock Out, Royal Challenge Strong and Foster's Strong, SABMiller is developing the premium beer segment, through its international brand, Miller High
Life and Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the super premium Italian brand, aimed at the top segment of premium beer consumers.
SABMiller has been building on bonding over bravery tales and community sharing that it had developed a while back, to push Haywards 5000, while Knock Out is being refreshed with new packaging to build on its already-high recall in the strong beer segment. "Besides recent product innovations like our plastic bottles, Haywards 5000 has been consistent with 'Hausla Buland' over the last three years, providing a platform to its consumers to share their inspiring stories of resolve. We have recently launched the long-term property of Hausla Buland Academy to which we will add new dimensions to keep it relevant for our target consumers," Afzali explains.
The introduction of a new pack-size and a thermosensitive label in a complete re-packaging has helped Knock Out gain market share in its core markets, the company claims.
The strong beers from both the companies are priced between Rs 80-100 for a 650ml bottle. With Kingfisher Strong still continuing with its rapid growth, Knock Out and the others will have to beat an active incumbent to get to the top of the heap.
"Kingfisher Strong, which notched up sales of 80 million cases in 2012-13, has built up a strong brand recall. Whenever anyone asks for Kingfisher beer, Strong is the one which comes to the table. It is almost synonymous. Indians have traditionally been partial to a stronger brew and we are riding on this wave," says Samar Singh Sheikhawat , senior VP (marketing), United Breweries.
Kingfisher Strong was launched to cater to the growing number of strong beer consumers in the country. It is both the largest and the fastest growing beer brand in the country and has been instrumental in growing volume sales and profitability of UBL. "Kingfisher Strong combines the taste and quality of Kingfisher in a strong beer and is positioned on a similar platform as the mother brand - Kingfisher. The tagline to communicate the positioning is 'Same Taste, Extra Dum'," adds Sheikhawat.
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The Indian beer industry sells around 270 million cases a year, and UBL, with its wide portfolio, sells close to 150 million of those cases.
The strong beer segment accounts for as much as 83 per cent of the overall market, and is growing at 18 per cent every year.
Kingfisher's strong beer portfolio constitutes close to 50 per cent of its category, while UBL's arch-rival SABMiller makes up close to 30 per cent, according to industry sources. The mild beer segment has been static by contrast.
SABMiller India is also pulling out all stops to deliver its knock-out punch in strong beer. "In the strong beer segment, we have iconic brands such as Haywards 5000 and Knock Out. To boost our brand portfolio, we have also introduced a stronger variant of Foster's in key states and Royal Challenge Strong in both 650ml and new 250ml packs in southern India. Both the new brands are getting an encouraging response from consumers in these key markets," says Darioush Afzali, marketing director, SABMiller India.
Both the beer majors depend on high decibel campaigns across various platforms to further sales. UBL had been riding high on the flavour of the season - the IPL, which concluded last Sunday. "We have a tightly-integrated marketing platform which talks to people across fashion shows, music, Bollywood, food promotions, F1 racing and of course, cricket. Each of these properties is taking our brand recall higher. Among various events, on an average, we sponsor close to 15,000 of our loyal customers to IPL matches in every season," sheikhawat explains.
SABMiller's strong beer portfolio saw double digit volume growth last year. "During the last year, the volume growth of Knock Out has exceeded the beer industry growth by a large margin. This growth has mainly come from market share gains in both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Haywards 5000 has also grown faster than the beer industry, gaining market share in its key markets in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra. Having said that, our focus is not on driving just one brand, but building a portfolio of brands," Afzali adds.
In addition to Haywards 5000, Knock Out, Royal Challenge Strong and Foster's Strong, SABMiller is developing the premium beer segment, through its international brand, Miller High
Life and Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the super premium Italian brand, aimed at the top segment of premium beer consumers.
SABMiller has been building on bonding over bravery tales and community sharing that it had developed a while back, to push Haywards 5000, while Knock Out is being refreshed with new packaging to build on its already-high recall in the strong beer segment. "Besides recent product innovations like our plastic bottles, Haywards 5000 has been consistent with 'Hausla Buland' over the last three years, providing a platform to its consumers to share their inspiring stories of resolve. We have recently launched the long-term property of Hausla Buland Academy to which we will add new dimensions to keep it relevant for our target consumers," Afzali explains.
The introduction of a new pack-size and a thermosensitive label in a complete re-packaging has helped Knock Out gain market share in its core markets, the company claims.
The strong beers from both the companies are priced between Rs 80-100 for a 650ml bottle. With Kingfisher Strong still continuing with its rapid growth, Knock Out and the others will have to beat an active incumbent to get to the top of the heap.