Indian Authorities may set 'reference prices' to stop under-invoicing of alcohol imported to India

AB InBev outperformed the industry & consistently gained the market share, says Kartikey Sharma

AB InBev India President’s words 

In a lot of our focus markets, we are actually seeing the gap close to the market leader and in some cases, became the leader." says Kartikeya Sharma

Justification

• AB InBev India, the seller of premium drinks such as Budweiser, Hoegaarden & Corona has outperformed the industry growth by 50%, with the industry growing by 20%.

• The company’s growth is attributed to its brand mix & new entrants in the consumer market.

• United Breweries & Carlsberg, two other major players, blamed supply chain issues & government restrictions for their low growth in the quarter.

• UB accounts for half the segment, followed by AB InBev which accounts for ¼ followed by Carlsberg accounting for less than 18% share, three together dominating the market with 90% share.

• Insights about the Indian alcohol beverage market 

  • Heavily taxed with just 80k alcohol retail licenses.

  • 20 mn people enter the legal drinking age every year.

• The company that produces 1 in every 4 beers around the world has been focusing on products beyond beer such as gin, vodka, spiced rum, etc.