Carlsberg brews up plans for expansion

The company is betting on the shift in urban consumers to spend on quality. Till now, Carlsberg has already invested Rs 220 crore in setting up four modern breweries with a total capacity of 12,70,000 hectolitres (hl).

Carlsberg operates in India through a joint venture named South Asia Breweries, in which it has a 45 per cent stake. Pradeep Gidwani, managing director, South Asia Breweries, said: "We are targeting the top-20 key metros and cities for distribution because Carlsberg will be positioned as a premium mild beer. Hence, we will distribute this brand through select outlets, approximately 10 per cent of the total outlets universe in these cities."

In Delhi, where it is distributing in 150 outlets, it has already gained 4.5 per cent share in volumes in the beer market, where the UB group has nearly 70 per cent and Sab Miller has 20 per cent. The national rollout in the rest of the regions in India, like the West and the North-East, would be supported by more sampling activities with consumers.

Gidwani added that the 150 million cases Indian beer market, growing at 30 per cent currently, has only two segments