Budweiser Taps Into the Frothy India Market

The stock market isn't the only thing growing in India at a frothy pace (see post below), so is India's taste for beer. Enough to get the attention of the world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch, which introduced an Indian-brewed Budweiser today as part of the company's plan to tap into the country's booming economy.

According to this Associated Press report, "India's beer industry posted 20% annual growth for the past two years, up from 10% per year over the past decade. The growth has been fueled by India's growing middle class and its huge population of young people. Roughly 60 percent of the nation's 1.2 billion are people under the age of 30."

Even with the strong growth in beer demand, India has a long way to go before it catches up to Europe and the U.S. When I checked a few years ago while I was in India and drinking a lot of Kingfisher, per capita beer consumption in India was only about .50 liters per year (a little higher maybe during my visit). In contrast, annual beer consumption in Ireland is 151 liters per person!!!, and in Germany it's 123 liters, while in the U.S. it's just below 100 liters.

Interestingly, the Indian press refers to Budweiser as a "premium" beer, like in this story and headline "Premium beer brand Budweiser launches in India."

And this story starts out "Royalty has graced us with its presence—Budweiser is in India. The brand that calls itself the king of beers will be available in the original mild and premium varieties, created for the Indian market. Locally brewed and priced competitively it threatens to send the local king, well, fishing." (reference to the current #1 beer in India, Kingfisher)

(HT: J. Howe)