Investor confidence high in the brewing beverages in India

Beer in India today is becoming a part of the Indian cosmopolitan culture. There are many pubs offering the state-of-the-art freshly brewed beer. Imported beers are also served in pint bottles for quick household consumption. There are many brands in the market which have been recently vying for the share of the pie.

The home brewed B9 beverages recently got bottoms up from Sequoia Capital and other investors, for its handcrafted beer brand Bira 91. The company has raised funds amounting to $6 million (approx. Rs.37 crore) in Series A funding from Sequoia Capital and other investors. Other investors include Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal, Ashish Dhawan of Chrys Capital, and Deepinder Goyal of Zomato.

Launched last year, India’s own handcrafted beer brand has made a progressive growth. The brand has achieved a penetration of 70% across the markets. Besides an effective supply chain management, B9 has also proven their product in terms of quality, presentation, and reasonability of price with the customers.

The brand is currently available in seven cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, Pune and Chandigarh. Available in draft and bottle formats, the brand has further created a recall value by being accessible at different consumer touch points. It has a draft beer dispense network of restaurants and bars across the country. It also imports and distributes a portfolio covering the major beer styles.

The investor confidence in the beverages sector is indicative of a different route the start-up eco-system is now taking. The beverage sector in India is growing and with Sequoia Capital investing in Paperboat, the market sentiment is high.

The new packaging and accessibility are two key factors which is driving the growth in the beverages sector. Paperboat has advertised extensively during last summer season, highlighting different facets of your childhood memories-linked with their different flavours. The new form of packaging, and exciting flavours stuck an instant emotional chord with the consumers. Made available in your neighbourhood stores, the attractive colouful and stylish packaging stole the look from other products on the shelves.

The trick of course, lies in making these products more accessible. The beer consumption is on a rise in India, with the younger people setting new standards of easy consumption. Coupled with the factor of high disposable income; we have a market ready to explode. The industry is still in a ‘wait and watch’ mode with many imported and home grown brands making a dent in the market.