Super premium beers to contribute 25% to UBL sales by 2020

Liquor firm United Breweries Ltd (UBL) expects its super premium beer brands to contribute 15 per cent to its total sales by volume and 25 per cent by value in next five years, a company official said.
UBL's super premium brands -- Heineken, Kingfisher Ultra and Ultra Max -- are witnessing highest growth in beer segment and expected to grow three folds in next five years.
"By 2020, super premium segment beer would contribute around 15 per cent of volume and around 25 per cent by value in its total sales. Premium segment has lot of potential in medium and long run," United Breweries Senior Vice President - Marketing - Samar Singh Sheikhawat told PTI.

United Breweries reported a revenue of Rs 4,692.29 crore in the fiscal 2014-15.
He further added: "This year, all three premium beer brands would contribute around 5 per cent by volume and between 7 to 8 per cent by value. It is growing between 40 to 50 per cent per annum as the beer industry is witnessing premiumisation in the mild and strong segment."
"For UBL, premium beers are the fastest growing in the market. Heineken is growing about 75 per cent (in volume) and Kingfisher Ultra beer is growing by about 45 per cent," Sheikhawat added.

UBL is also strengthening the sales network of its premium beers. Presently, beer is sold at around 80,000 to 85,000 outlets and its premium range of beer is available at around 25 per cent of those outlets.

"We are continuously increasing our distribution and increasing the number of cities where our products are available. We are a category leader in the premium segment," Sheikhawat said.
The company has recently launched 'Ultra Max' beer in the super premium strong segment.
UBL will sell Ultra Max across India in next 12 to 18 months, he added.
According to the All India Brewers Association (AIBA), the beer industry is valued at Rs 25,000 crore, around 23 million hectolitres beer was sold in the country. The industry is growing at around 6 per cent. Earlier, the industry was growing in the range of 10 to 12 per cent between 2002 to 2012.

When asked about the reasons of premiumisation of the beer industry, Sheikhawat said: "It happens with every industry, if it does not grow with volume, then grows in value terms.