Merchandising Allows us to Expand into Other Categories: Vikram Bahl, CMO, United Breweries Limited

United Breweries Limited (UBL), part of the HEINEKEN Company, launched Queenfisher Beer, advertised as the Queen of Good Times, from the House of Kingfisher. This initiative is an all-women endeavor, from formulating the limited-edition Queenfisher can to brewing the beer. Apart from that, the country’s top beer manufacturer plans to expand its merchandising line for the brand.

In June 2023, Kingfisher announced the opening of its first-ever online merchandise store, KF.LIFE. The launch was in collaboration with The Fantam, a Bengaluru-based group of professional brand managers. The store offers exclusive Kingfisher merchandise to fans nationwide, which includes stylish bar accessories, captivating board games, beautiful wall décor signages, and trendy apparel.

Vikram Bahl, Chief Marketing Officer at United Breweries Limited, said, “We have just started working on our merchandising line, KF Life. Initial response for our merchandise was very good. Our consumers associate with the brand and they love to interact with the brand across different product categories.”

Talking about the motive behind the launch of the merchandise line, Bahl said, “The merchandise line is not to grow the Kingfisher as a brand, this is taking an opportunity for making merchandise in the market. There is a demand for our products so there is a demand for merchandise by bringing the brand like Kingfisher into that and it allows us to expand into other categories.”

When asked if Kingfisher Life will enter into offline segment with the merchandise, to which Bahl said, “We will see the online response first but for now all the options are on the table. We have just started the journey of KF Life.”

Innovative Approach 

The entire campaign is a celebration of sisterhood with a fresh brew and also a fresh perspective on the iconic Calendar, now reimagined as The Galendar. The Galendar captures real-life stories of women. Shot by Avani Rai, every page has a QR code which upon scanning shows the unique moments of sisterhood of that circle as captured in films by the director Kopal Naithani. It allows the public to experience the world of sisterhood as told by the women and also create their own personalized Galendars and share with others.

Elaborating further, Bahl said, “The product that we have launched, Queenfisher is to make beer all inclusive and the way we have developed is the brew itself which is specifically designed to suit taste buds of women and the second this is that there is a purpose behind it to celebrate and acknowledge the deep loyalties and friendship that women have among themselves what we call sisterhood and recognizing that because that’s the driving force for the success of women and in sometimes all odds.

Expanding the Horizons

Talking about the Galendar, Bahl said, “We are launching Kingfisher Galendar and it's absolutely unique because it starts in March of this year and it's absolutely unique marking International Women’s Day. Its every page features, stories of sisterhood featuring real women who are talking about their friendships and sisterhood.”

It should be noted that United Breweries in the past few weeks have launched Kingfisher Ultra Max Draught Beer in Karnataka, it entered the non-alcoholic beverages segment with the introduction of its lemon-based drink brand Kingfisher Radler in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In November 2023, Heineken Silver Draught Beer was launched exclusively in premium bars and pubs across Mumbai.