[IBU] India, This Bud's For You

[Becker, Steven]

India, This Bud's For You
By Ramola Talwar Badam, Associated Press Writer
Manufacturing.Net - July 06, 2007
http://www.manufacturing.net/article.aspx?id=143884

MUMBAI, India (AP) - Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewer,
introduced an Indian-brewed Budweiser on Friday as part of the company's
plan to tap into the country's booming economy, a top official said.

While India is one of the world's largest markets for spirits, it ranks
near the bottom among beer-guzzling nations.

Anheuser-Busch, however, sees great potential in the country.

''India has strong and consistent economic growth,'' said Stephen J.
Burrows, chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch Asia-Pacific
operations. ''It represents a major entry point for Anheuser-Busch.''

Budweiser will initially be on sale only in southern and western India.
The company does not sell imported Budweiser in the country.

''The first step is to get the beer established, then we will look at
expansion,'' said Burrows.

India's beer industry posted a blistering 20 percent growth per annum
over the past two years, up from 10 percent per year over the past
decade. The growth has been fueled by India's growing middle class and
its huge population of young people. Roughly 60 percent of the nation's
1.2 billion are people under the age of 30.

''The emerging strong middle class has historically been good for the
beer industry,'' said Burrows.

The St. Louis-based beer maker announced a joint venture in February
with Crown Beers India Ltd. to brew, market and distribute Budweiser and
other brands in India and set up a new brewery in the southern Indian
city of Hyderabad.

With a flat U.S. beer market, Anheuser-Busch has sought overseas growth.
It began brewing in China in 1995 and that country's beer market pushed
ahead of the U.S. in 2002 as the world's biggest.

Anheuser-Busch has a 27-percent share in the China brewer Tsingtao
Brewery Co., China's biggest brewer, and a 50 percent ownership in Grupo
Modelo, Mexico's leading beer-maker.

The company faces tough competition in India with United Breweries Ltd.,
the world's second-largest alcohol manufacturer, which has about 45
percent of the beer market share, followed by London-headquartered
SABMiller with some 36 percent.

The Crown Group operates businesses in India's agriculture industry
through seed production and export businesses. The group also deals with
industrial exports and real estate.

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