A growth in alcohol industry is seen due to rising income level and changing drinking habits of Indians. This has enticed interest of foreign companies to launch brands in Indian market in various segments. Summer is the peak season for beer. South is the biggest beer market in India with a share of about 60%, North contributes 30% and the rest of the countr...more

A growth in alcohol industry is seen due to rising income level and changing drinking habits of Indians. This has enticed interest of foreign companies to launch brands in Indian market in various segments. Summer is the peak season for beer. South is the biggest beer market in India with a share of about 60%, North contributes 30% and the rest of the country contributes the remaining. India's annual per capita consumption of beer is roughly about one litre while in US, it is 80 litres, 74 litres in Europe and about 22 litres in China. The low per capita consumption in beer market and huge opportunity in future has lead to another firm which is also controlled by Vijay Mallya's Group:- United Breweries for putting up a roadmap for the next fiscal which includes three new brand launches. The company is going for even as the company expansion and setting up of Greenfield breweries to take the advantage of low penetration and to tackle the entry of foreign brands. The process of making beer is known as brewing. The purpose of brewing is to convert the starch source into sugary liquid called wort and to convert the wort into the alcoholic beverage known as beer in a fermentation process affected by yeast. The basic ingredients of beer are water; a starch source, such as malted barley, able to be fermented (converted into alcohol); a brewer's yeast to produce the fermentation; and a flavoring such as hops. Anheuser-Busch InBev Company is the largest brewer in the world. In Brazil, 45% of the total cane available for crushing goes for sugar production and 55% goes for the production of ethanol directly from sugarcane juice. This gives an additional flexibility to the sugar industry in Brazil to adjust its sugar production keeping in view the sugar price in the international market as nearly 40% of the sugar output is exported. Ethanol is the primary constituent in beverages. Alcoholic beverages vary considerably in their ethanol content and in the foodstuffs from which they are produced. The low per capita consumption in alcohol and beer and increasing volume sales, India has become an attractive destination for the foreign players to launch their brands here. The foreign players, which already have their presence, are looking at growth through launches of brands through their international portfolio. This is great concern for local players specially the United Spirits and United Breweries, which are the market leader in India. However, increasing input cost and high-regulated market are the major concerns for the industry.  hide