You know those bartenders who pour your beer oh-so-carefully to ensure there’s barely a bubble on the surface? Serious beer-drinkers would insist the foam is essential to the drink — the bubbles release the aroma of the drink, adding to the flavour. SABMiller clearly doesn’t agree. In July 2012, the liquor major launched (or rather, relaunched) Indus Pride, a beer that is certainly packed with flavour, but has no head. Indus Pride was introduced in four variants — citrusy coriander, citrusy cardamom, spicy fennel and fiery cinnamon — and is now, 18 months later, being promoted on the Indian specialty brew platform. “Creating an Indian specialty beer sub-category was not easy. Unlike a standard lager, our range is very different and is brewed with authentic Indian spices,” claims Jyotishman Deka, vice-president (marketing), SABMiller India.
Not your father's beer
SABMiller is banking on its spiced local brew to bolster sales
The current marketing overdrive is yet another attempt by SABMiller to boost the brand. The company, which also owns other well-known beer brands such as Haywards, Knock Out, Foster’s and Royal Challenge, first introduced Indus Pride as a mild beer in 2008 and phased it out a couple of years later. It was relaunched with desi flavours when, says Deka, research showed that urban consumers were looking for a beer with a strong Indian connection.
Trouble is, the Indian specialty brew platform on which Indus Pride has been relaunched doesn’t really exist and most industry observers believe that flavoured beer will be an acquired taste at best. Certainly, at ₹85 for a 330-ml bottle (compared with ₹ 60 for a 330-ml can of Kingfisher), even SABMiller concedes Indus Pride is a premium offering. The drink is available only in Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Goa and Chandigarh and sales figures could not be sourced. Distributers and resellers, however, haven’t been too enthused, even though the company offers the last mile retailer a 6% margin. This is higher than Kingfisher’s 4-5%, but lower than Carlsberg’s 8-9%. Randip Singh Munjral, owner of Shah & Co, one of Mumbai’s largest liquor outlets, says, “In more developed markets, people experiment with new beer tastes. That is not the case in India.” Moreover, he says, it’s the taste that matters, not the price. “If consumers like the drink, it won’t matter if it is expensive.”
For SABMiller, there is more than a little riding on the success of Indus Pride, since its overall market share has been under some serious pressure. According to Euromonitor, between 2008 and 2012, the company’s share across its brands has dropped sharply from 35% to 27%, of which Haywards brings in 15.9%. For the same period, the UB Group has just about held on to its 52% market share. Even a relatively new entrant Carlsberg has seen its share moving from 0.8% to 6.4% in the 23 million hectolitre beer industry, which has grown by 77% in volume terms during 2007-12.
Pradeep Gidwani, who headed Foster’s India for six years before it was acquired globally by SABMiller, agrees that spiced beer has very little awareness compared with lager beer. But, he points out, half the volumes at his Pint Room beer café come from ale. “There is opportunity beyond lager, but it is a long process,” he adds. Which means it may be a while before India’s big head drinkers develop a taste for SABMiller’s spicy brew.