 "Vijay Mallya")
“Today, we have just one dominant player and because of this, the segment has not grown,” said Samar S Sheikhawat, senior vice-president (marketing), UB.
Bacardi Breezer owns the RTD beverage market with multiple flavours and sells more than two million units across India. For UB, a RTD beverage was a project that its chairman Vijay Mallya had initiated a few years ago, but refining the malt-based beverage that would help it market under the beer category with the right flavour is what took time. RTD drinks have less than five per cent alcohol content.
“This is not an imported product from the Heineken stable. This is an indigenous product of Kingfisher and UB developed over the years,” said Sheikhawat.
Kingfisher Buzz, initially launched in Mumbai and Pune, would be expanded into other markets such as Goa. It has launched the low-alcohol drink in 330 ml bottles in berry and lychee flavours and priced at around Rs 100, in tune with the competition.
UB plans to use its distribution network to build the product’s presence across the country over the next two months and ensure brand recall before summer, said Sheikhawat.
India's annual beer consumption is nearly 280 million cases, sold by UB and its competitors Sab Miller and Carlsberg, with the market dominated by the strong beer segment with higher alcohol content. Four of five bottles sold in India is strong beer.
