United Breweries enters into non-alcoholic beverage segment with Kingfisher Radler

United Breweries Limited has launched craft style beer, Kingfisher Ultra Witbier in New Delhi.

This marks UBL’s foray into the craft and variety segment, which makes it the first non-lager under the entire portfolio.

Kingfisher Ultra Witbier marked its official entry into the market in Bengaluru and Goa in December 2019.

The beer is brewed using the authentic Belgian wheat beer recipe and has a refreshing and sessionable taste. The ABV for Kingfisher Ultra Witbier is lower than 5%, brewed using natural extracts of orange, coriander, spices sourced from Belgium and new world aromatic hops from USA.

Kingfisher Ultra Witbier is available in 3SKUs, a 330ml bottle, a 500ml can and a 650ml bottle, priced at Rs. 115, Rs. 165 and Rs. 225 respectively in New Delhi. The packaging comes together using a blend of old school and modern contemporary graphic design, the wheat hue label is inspired by its signature ingredient.

United Breweries Limited has forayed into the alternate beer category with the launch of the Kingfisher Ultra Witbier, the first non-lager beer from the house of Kingfisher.

The craft-style beer is brewed with the authentic Belgian wheat beer recipe, offering a refreshing, light and sessionable taste. With an ABV of lower than 5%, the beer is a rich blend of all-natural extracts of orange and coriander, spices sourced from Belgium and new world aromatic hops sourced from the USA.

Debabrata Mukherjee, Chief Marketing Officer, United Breweries Limited, said, “Every consumer need across categories is important to us, and it is our responsibility to provide choice in our portfolio. With our first offering in the speciality beer segment, Kingfisher Ultra Witbier wideness our footprint and provides another innovative beverage option in the beer category.”

Kingfisher Ultra Witbier

Kingfisher Ultra Witbier is available in 3 SKUs, a 330 ml bottle, a 500 ml can and a 650 ml bottle, priced at Rs 110, Rs 150 and Rs 185respectively in Karnataka state. The new offering is packaged with a blend of old school and modern graphic design, and the wheatish label is inspired by the product’s key ingredient.

Kingfisher Ultra Witbier is geared up to capture markets with its authentic Belgian wheat beer recipe and is now available across Karnataka and Goa. It will soon be available in Maharashtra, Delhi, and Haryana.

“Consumers today expect more from their beers- they crave uniqueness in flavor, taste &experience. Ultra Witbier will retain the sense of style and authenticity of the parent brand ULTRA, and we are confident it will appeal to our consumers across the country,” Mukherjee added.

Kingfisher ULTRA

Kingfisher ULTRA, the Emperor of Good Times was launched in September 2009. A premium offering from United Breweries, ULTRA assures consumers the best quality, taste and the most differentiated experience across every touchpoint. Kingfisher ULTRA is made from the finest ingredients which have a distinctive taste.

The brand has based its activations on prominent genres like fashion and music. Apart from these, Kingfisher ULTRA has also launched various other activations and promotions across all points of sale which have met with positive responses amongst its consumers. It is a beer for the modern, urban, confident, independent and self-assured consumer. It is for those who want the best and deserve the best. It is currently available in all major cities of the country.

Indian Beer Market

According to the report, the Indian Alcoholic beverages market observed the highest market share of Whisky which is followed by brandy & beer. Being third in the Indian alcohol beverages market, the Indian Beer market has a market share of 17%.

The rise in disposable income of the Indian population has somewhere led the consumers to shift from standard beers to premium and craft beers. The population is turning more brand conscious, offering numerous business opportunities to entrepreneurs.

United Breweries Limited (UBL), the maker of Kingfisher (KF) beer, is planning to expand the KF portfolio to play across product segments and price points within India and abroad. 

Initially, UBL will be introducing four new in-house products under craft and variety beer categories, besides launching new premium, niche international beer brands. The company will also be investing in expanding production capacity and brand building.

Gurpreet Singh, Divisional Vice-President (Marketing), UBL, said, “We want to expand our share in all products segments and price categories. We will have at least four new craft and variety beer brands ready for launch from the Kingfisher stable within a couple of months. We will also bring in more international beers to the Indian market. All these are part of our efforts to build a wide range of portfolio under KF.”

At present, UBL is studying the market for craft and variety beer in India through taste trials across Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, where such beverages are becoming popular.

“We are closely studying these segments. Apart from a wheat beer, there are a few other varieties that are catching the fancy of customers. We want to cash in on this growing interest for such beer in the country,” Singh added.

Want to invest in a food and beverage franchise? Visit Franchise India 2019, Asia’s Biggest Franchise & Retail Show, and give wings to your entrepreneurial dreams.

United Breweries Limited has introduced Kingfisher Radler, its new non-alcoholic beverage, across India. Bringing a new outlook to the soft drink category, Kingfisher Radler is a 100% natural drink that contains 30% less sugar than carbonated soft drinks.

The non-alcoholic beverage is a blend of fresh barley malts and natural lemon juice. It will be available in three refreshing flavours, including Lemon, Ginger-Lime and Mint-Lime.

Kingfisher Radler is made available in two classic formats, a 300ml can (priced at Rs 45) and a 300ml glass bottle (priced at Rs 70).

India's largest brewer, United Breweries has reported a 87 per cent decline in profit for the quarter ended in March 2017 from a year ago on the back of shutdown of Bihar operations, destocking by liquor by retailers due to highway ban anticipation and increase in duty fee.

Kingfisher-maker posted profit of Rs 6.7 crore from Rs 52 crore in the corresponding quarter. Revenue for the same period grew by 2.7 per cent to Rs 2562 crore.

In a BSE filing, the company said, "The Supreme Court order directing all outlets within 500 meters to close from the 1st of April has had a significant impact on the industry in quarter 4. The industry saw a decline of about 13 per cent. We expect the impact of this ban to be most significant in the first two quarters of this fiscal year."

The company said in a separate filing that brewing operations at its manufacturing unit in Bihar have been discontinued due to prohibition of alcohol in the state.

Industry volume growth slipped by 5%, whereas UBL saw a 2.5% decline in volume.

United Breweries, which has 52 per cent market share, recently launched strong beer Kingfisher Storm and has plans to launch about half a dozen international brands to boost the declining market.

One of India’s largest beermaker United Breweries (UB) is betting on its latest strong brew, Kingfisher Storm, to wean away customers from rival Carlsberg that has steadily gained 15% market share over the past five years.

Storm will directly compete with Carlsberg Elephant, Tuborg Strong, and the recently introduced Tuborg Classic. The product will be rolled out across India in the next 18 months. This is the most aggressive launch by UB in over eight years, said a company official.

He said, "There is a movement toward a smoother drinking experience — typically falling between 5% and 7% alcohol content."

To ride out a prolonged slump in the beer industry that fell 2% in FY17, UB is banking on youngsters to spend more on a strong beer with a smooth taste.

According to the country's top breweries, this year the beer industry is expected to expand 5-7%, paced by premium product launches and expansions.

UB, which has a market share of about 52%, will introduce a portfolio of imported beers and another strong beer brand by the end of the year. AB InBev’s imported labels such as Corona, Hoegaarden and Stella, which are limited to Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore, will now be taken to more than a dozen markets across India.

Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Carlsberg are collectively introducing about a dozen new beer brands in India to slake the thirst of its summer-singed consumers.

For the world’s top three brewers, which together control about 90 per cent of India’s beer market, new products could be the recipe for fending off an unhealthy cocktail of sales bans, shrinking store networks, and stagnant demand in a warm, tropical country with promising demographics and increasing affluence.

India’s beer sales fell 2 per cent in the year to March 2017, but companies expect the segment to expand 5-7 per cent in the current fiscal, driven by premium products.

Skekhar Ramamurthy, Managing Director, United Breweries (UB), said, "We need to strengthen our portfolio because consumers want to choose, and we want to be a part of their choice. In the next six months, we will come up with two strong beer brands in the premium segment, and an interesting portfolio of imported brands in the next six weeks."

He added, "Then some more are being developed in India in the premium segment to further strengthen our market leadership. Kingfisher will continue to be our lead brand."

AB InBev, the maker of Budweiser and Fosters, said consumer sentiment continues to stay positive and its portfolio expansion will help re-stimulate growth.

Kartikeya Sharma, Marketing Director, AB InBev, India and South-East Asia, said, "The trend of consumers trading up has never been stronger in the country and the premium segment has been unaffected by the slowdown."

Apart from mainstream beer brands, experts believe the market could see a slew of new launches in the craft beer segment, an expanding niche.

Rahul Singh, who owns 40 beer cafes across 12 cities, said, "We expect at least 20 new beers to be launched in the fiscal, as there is interest from Canada, New Zealand, Lithuania, and even Iceland."

RI Bureau

Carl’s Jr, the Californian premium burger chain which entered Indian few months back is all set to give its fans in India an additional reason to rejoice having introduced beer in its Saket outlet from 8.00 pm onwards on October 23rd,  2015.

The brand has partnered with United Breweries (UB) Group and will be serving Kingfisher beer (for just Rs 99) along with its wholesome burgers to customers.

“We are excited to introduce beer to our customers at Carl’s Jr! We know that the youth today is looking for a differentiated experience while eating out and what can be better than a chilled beer to unwind. We understand that the QSR market in India is not offering enough variation for the youth. This launch allows us to establish a distinctive positioning in market saturated with children centric brands,” shared Sana Chopra, Executive Director, Carl’s Jr. India.

The launch of beer as an option reiterates the brand’s positioning as a QSR chain meant for the ‘Young and Hungry Boys and Girls’.

Internationally, beer and burgers are considered as the ‘holy’ combination of fast food. This launch will allow customers in India to enjoy a high-quality, international experience at ‘QSR speed and convenience’.

Post the launch on October 23rd, customers will be able to enjoy beer at Carl’s Jr. every day  from 11am till 12:30am. The brand also plans to host ‘Beer Game Nights’ every week on Wednesdays for customers to enjoy their drinks.

The brand will be offering beer as an option along with all of its burgers, in addition to several combos with Chicken Tenders, Chicken legs and Wings.

Adding to the same, Samira Chopra, Director, Carl’s Jr India, “The decision to offer beer to our customers is the outcome of a key insight into the QSR market in India. There are hardly any fast food chains offering the ‘beer and burger’ combo, that too at a reasonable price point. Kingfisher is a much loved beer from the UB Group and we are certain that customers will love the combination of our Californian burgers with it.”

The launch of beer comes in the backdrop of a strategic tie up with YouWeCan Ventures which establishes Yuvraj Singh as the official face of Carl’s Jr.

This association with a male youth icon and the introduction of beer this early, is indicative of a strong intention of the brand to break free from clutter and stand out among the youth.

As per Food Navigator Asia, India’s QSR segment is currently valued at Rs. 60 billion and is expected to grow by 26% each year. Furthermore, the country has the world’s largest youth population, about 356 million (United Nations report) and hence promises high potential for any QSR brand tailored towards it.