New Delhi: In India, just like Amul is to butter, Kingfisher has been to beer for decades. But things are changing fast. The country’s biggest beer brand is losing market share to premium foreign brands as urban Indians develop a liking for high-end brands over high alcohol content in their beers.
Kingfisher, still the largest beer brand in India, has lost 4.3% market share by volume between 2011 and 2016, according to data from market researcher Euromonitor marking the steepest decline among the top beer brands in India during this time.
Meanwhile, Dutch beer maker Carlsberg through its flagship product as well as Tuborg, and the world’s largest alcohol maker Anheuser-Busch InBev NV through its brand Budweiser, have capitalized on the gap left behind by Kingfisher’s decline. Carlsberg’s Tuborg brand is now India’s second-largest beer by volume with 11.1% market share, a near five-fold jump since 2011. The firm’s flagship beer Carlsberg is also on the list, whose market share has doubled to 5.8% since 2011, Euromonitor data shows.
Vijay Mallya is the chairman of United Breweries that produces Kingfisher. Anheuser-Busch InBev has also rapidly gained market share through its main beer brand Budweiser whose market share has also witnessed a near five-fold jump from 2011 to 4.9% in 2016. AB InBev has also strengthened its position with brands of SABMiller Plc, the English alcohol maker that merged with AB InBev in 2016. In India, AB InBev now owns Haywards, the country’s third-largest beer by volume share worth 10.7%, as per Euromonitor. However, this share has declined since 2011, when it was 14.6%.
Most of these brands are positioned as premium urban beers and marketed in association with music festivals and other events that target a young working population in the cities. While Budweiser is a sponsor of music events including Electric Daisy Carnival and Tomorrowland, Carlsberg is a sponsor of events including football tournament UEFA Euro in India.
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