After dominating the strong beer segment with an absolute majority, United Breweries Limited which owns the 'Kingfisher' brand of beer is now actively stepping on the gas to expand its presence in the super-premium mild beer segment which is dominated by global brands such as Carlsberg and Budweiser in India.
UBL, which had launched 'Kingfisher Ultra' during 2009, has been aggressively growing this franchise and according to UBL joint president Shekhar Ramamurthy, the volumes are increasing rapidly. "The Indian consumer has also changed in his demands and with the increase in disposable incomes, is showing keenness to upgrade in everything he uses. He is ready to pay a premium for the best and demands the best," Ramamurthy added. The super-premium beer segment starts at a price point of Rs 110 a bottle and goes on up to as much as Rs 180 a 650-ml bottle.
With respect to the size of the market segments, the Super Premium Segment comprised of 3.1 per cent of industry volume of 270 million nine-litre cases and accounts for 4.2 per cent of industry value in 2012. Volumes in this segment, grew by 62 per cent in 2012 over 2011. According to market information, UBL's 'Kingfisher Ultra' is expected to cross the 1 million cases mark, inching closer to Carlsberg volumes and has a long way ahead to catch up with Budweiser.
Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President-Marketing, United Breweries Limited, added that they are seeing growth in all the 19 markets in India in which they are present and over the next year they will be entering new markets to expand volumes and are hoping at an aggressive double-digit growth going forward.
A Carlsberg India spokesperson speaking on the fast-emerging 'Kingfisher Ultra' said that they believe competition is healthy for the overall growth of any industry. "It helps in raising the bar and increasing industry standards, directing the players to match high quality performance benchmarks. And, this stands true to the beer industry as well. The Indian consumer today is rapidly premiumising and players present in the super premium segment or entering the segment give more options to the consumers thereby leading to the overall growth of the ecosystem. We, at Carlsberg India, are well-poised with our plans to capitalise the growth," Carlsberg India official added.
While United Breweries is present across the value chain in the beer segment, Carlsberg too has been making healthy progress in its portfolio approach.
"We have brands across price points and also market segments and categories With Carlsberg Elephant we have created the super premium strong segment, and this is the fastest growing segment in the market today. Brand Tuborg is the No. 1 International beer brand and the No. 4 beer brand in the country with over 60 per cent growth in 2012 over 2011 and has emerged one of the fastest-growing brands in the Indian beer market today. Tuborg Strong is the fastest growing brand (in share gains) with a 100 per cent growth in 2012. We have a number of exciting plans in 2013 to further enhance Carlsberg's strong presence in these segments," the Carlsberg India spokesperson added.
