In a bid to tighten its stranglehold over the Indian beer market, United Breweries, India’s largest publicly held brewing company, is all set to commission a 12-million cases-a-year plant in Bihar with an investment of Rs 200 crore by the end of FY15. The move follows the commissioning of similar breweries in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The company has a capacity to brew 180 million cases a year, of which it owns 80 per cent; the rest are sourced from contract brewers.
Last year, UB added half a per cent market share to its 50 per cent share in India’s 270-million-cases-a-year market. The Indian beer market last year contracted one per cent as Maharashtra, Bihar and Punjab markets were impacted due to a steep rise in the excise duty and end-consumer prices.
United Breweries is maker of Kingfisher beer and Heineken beer in India. Kingfisher is largest selling beer in India that commands 29% of market share. The company has presence in 52 countries.
