Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) India has registered a 30 percent upsurge in sales during the initial half of 2023, accompanied by positive growth in specific markets. Kartikeya Sharma, the President of AB InBev India, anticipates this favorable momentum to persist throughout the latter half of the year.
Being a prominent contender within the premium and super premium beer sector, the company boasts renowned brands like Budweiser, Hoegaarden, and Corona. Notably, it has recorded a growth increase of 200-300 basis points in major markets like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and West Bengal, according to his statement.
“The beer industry grew 20 per cent from January to June 2023… We grew ahead of the industry by almost 50 per cent. So our growth was closer to 30 per cent, said Sharma in a media roundtable here.”
Nonetheless, there are certain challenges emerging from the urban market, where demand is experiencing a slight decline in urban centers. Despite this, Sharma remains optimistic about sustaining the current growth rate.
The challenge is for us to see how in H2 we are going to sustain and expand the share gains but in H1, we were been very satisfied with the numbers, said Sharma.
Within its top 10 priority markets, AB InBev envisions narrowing the difference between its position and the leading market competitor to a range of two to three percentage points.
In a lot of our focus markets, we actually see the gap close to the market leader and in some cases, we have become a market leader, he added.
Regarding consumption trends, following the Covid pandemic, there was an elongation of the peak in the premium segment. However, during the last two months, urban centers have been deviating from this trend, as the peak in demand is diminishing.
“The growth rates in the post-peak period have not tapered off quite dramatically due to the peak period. And subsequently within that, in these urban centres premium actually sees almost peak level growth and therefore our positioning in the premium has allowed us to share gain in H2,” Sharma said.
Dominating the Indian beer market is United Breweries Ltd (UBL), a company under the ownership of the Dutch brewing powerhouse, Heineken.
AB InBev’s super premium brands Corona and Hoegaarden, Sharma said, contributing in high single digits of the total sales here. “Together with Budweiser, Corona and Hoegaarden contribute 58 per cent of the total volume,” he said and rest 42 per cent comes from entry-level beers such as Haywards, Royal Challenge, Knockout and Indus Pride. The mainstream entry-level beer contributes to 35 per cent of the value.
Last year, AB InBev made its foray into the Indian whisky market, introducing brands like Budweiser Magnum Double Barrel and D’YAVOL INCEPTION.
Over sales of Whiskey, Sharma added, “It is difficult to put a number on that because it is very early days. We are at three to four markets and 2,000 to 3,000 worth of points of sale in terms of distribution.”
During 2023, the company also unveiled three Gin variants as an expansion of its Hoegaarden brand in this category, along with the introduction of Seven Rivers Spiced Rum.
AB InBev ventured into the Indian market in 2008 with the introduction of Budweiser through a joint venture. Over the course of 15 years, India has ascended to the position of being the fourth-largest market for Budweiser on a global scale.
Within its Budweiser portfolio, AB InBev uniquely offers beer, whiskey, and energy drinks only in the Indian market.
Regarding inflation, Sharma mentioned that there hasn’t been any noticeable impact, as the company chose not to transfer the effects to consumers. Instead, they opted to manage the situation by tightening their profit margins, all while maintaining their growth trajectory.
