United Breweries Ltd, the maker of Kingfisher beer has disclosed that its flagship brewery brand will be available in the national capital by 2024-end. United Breweries Chief Marketing Officer Vikram Bahl in an exclusive conversation with Storyboard18 said, “Kingfisher will be in Delhi soon…most likely by the end of this year”.
Kingfisher has been off the shelf in Delhi’s liquor shops ever since the Centre scrapped the “New Excise Police 2021-22”, rolled out by the Aam Aadmi Party government.
In the past one year, United Breweries, controlled by Dutch multinational brewing company Heineken NV has launched a bunch of products and has increased penetration in several states except Delhi.
UB launched Heineken Silver in Karnataka and Goa; London Pilsner, Kingfisher Ultra Max draught, and Mango Rush in Karnataka last year, and Queenfisher in Goa in March 2024. The brewery brand is planning to launch a new product in Tamil Nadu as well. UB will be a presenting sponsor of the Indian Racing League (IRL) in the southern state.
“Tamil Nadu is an important state for our business as we are one of the big brands in the state and also have a local manufacturing facility. From every sense we felt to get associated with IRL as it’s an emerging sport in India and Tamil Nadu is a hotspot,” and added that UB would continue its investment in Tamil Nadu “in a big way”.
Notably, UB’s flagship brand Kingfisher, has been a sponsor in several sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), India Premiership 2023, FC Goa, etc. According to the annual report of the company, “Kingfisher delivered the highest-ever volume and revenue in FY24, supported by a packed calendar that tapped into its existing associations as well as new campaigns, such as leveraging ad campaign during the IPL campaign and association with Lucknow Super Giants”.
Bahl explained that tying up with any sporting event has improved the brand score and business performance of the company. “We partner with sporting events to build association and to strengthen our brand forever”.
UB is not just focusing on territories to improve the brand’s presence but also targeting Generation Z, popularly known as GenZ. Demographically, India is experiencing a youth bulge, with a median population age of 28, indicating a large market of legal drinking-age individuals who are likely to drive beer consumption as per United Breweries.
Bahl said, “United Breweries is trying to associate with events and platforms of which GenZ are passionate about, such as motorsports, music festivals, and products such as Queenfisher that promotes inclusivity”. Kingfisher strengthened its’ connection with young consumers by tapping into their passion for ‘Gaming’ through a year-long association with Kingfisher India Premiership in 2023, the company mentioned in its annual report.
The beer market is also seeing a shift towards more diverse product offerings, including flavored and non-alcoholic beers. Bahl said UB’s Mango Rush and Queenfisher have received a positive response.
United Breweries reported a 27.47 percent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 173.80 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal year (FY25). The company posted a net profit of Rs 136.34 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago. The revenue from operations rose 10.83 percent to Rs 5,811.28 crore during the April and June quarter of FY2025 It was Rs 5,243.01 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. In the quarter, UBL invested Rs 47 crore on Capex, primarily in supply chain initiatives to cater to future growth.