Shaw Wallace and Co (SWC) has launched its flagship European strong beer brand `Lal Toofan' in the Indian market. The Manu Chhabria-controlled liquour major is seeking to grow its market share in the strong-beer segment, where it already enjoys a 32 per cent market share, with its Indian flagship, Haywards 5000.
Lal Toofan was first introduced to the UK market in 1993 and has since then enjoyed a strong presence in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France.
In India, SWC proposes to market the brand through an independent distributor network to give it a better focus.
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According to a company official, "The brand will be positioned as an Indian premium strong beer and will adopt the market dynamics from state to state on the pricing front. It is being pegged at the price levels of lead brands in the segment and will be available in 650ml amber bottles."
SWC's growth strategy for the current financial year is to consolidate its position in the strong-beer segment through new launches. This is in response to the trend of the Indian beer consumer changing preferences from mild beer to strong.
The market share of strong beer has grown from 34 per cent in 1993-94 to 54 per cent in 1999-2000.
According to the company official, the compounded annual growth rate of the strong-beer segment has been 19 per cent compared to the beer industry's 9 per cent.
However, the company has also kept its focus on the mild-beer segment, which still accounts for 40 per cent of the beer market and is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 1 per cent. SWC currently enjoys only 10 per cent of the mild-beer market which it aims to grow to 20 per cent with Hi-Five, the most recent brand from its stable.
The brand's marketing will be supported by a three-part television advertising campaign, positioned on the humour platform and is targeted at a younger audience. To supplement television advertising, the company has also tied up Contests2win.com to cash in the Internet wave. An exclusive website for Hi-Five is also on the cards.