“With the industry growing at about 20%, we actually outpaced the industry by almost 50%,” said Kartikeya Sharma, president at AB InBev India, which sells Hoegaarden and Corona. “A great deal of this comes down to our brand mix and the fact that the premium engine of the company both at an industry level and ABI level continues to outperform total industry, just from the level of consumers we are seeing entering the category.” United Breweries and Carlsberg blamed supply chain issues and route-to-market changes for their low growth during the quarter.
For instance, UB, the maker of Kingfisher beer, said Telangana cancelled permissions for Sunday shifts in plants, leading to capacity constraints, while inter-state sales were hit as it was not profitable to sell, given the impact of import duties. Also, April and May volumes were hit by administrative supply chain issues in Karnataka, it said. Carlsberg said volumes grew in mid-single digit and less than the market due to capacity constraint.
“Our sales planning in the brewery-to-state equation, making sure that the right mix is available on time with raw material availability with the right level of packaging availability, I think came through in a very good way,” said Sharma.
UB accounts for half the segment followed by AB InBev, which controls nearly a fourth while Carlsberg is the third largest player with less than 18% share. Together, they dominate 90% of India’s beer market. The local unit of the world’s biggest brewer, however, said it gained 200-350 bps in top markets. “Our supply chain from a supply chain resilience standpoint was primed towards capturing the kind of industry growth we have seen come through,” added Sharma.
