Cobra Beer eyes numero uno slot

Cobra Beer is planning to become the number one premium lager beer by next year. The company claims that its only competition in India in this segment is from Fosters, which is sold two million cases last year.

"We are growing at 600 per cent year-on–year. We aim to become the number one premium lager beer by setting up breweries and increasing our distribution," said Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder and chief executive officer, Cobra Beer. Bilimoria was in the capital to launch his book on entrepreneurship Bottled For Success.

Even globally, the company is in overdrive. From a global valuation of $220 million (excluding India) over a year ago, Cobra's most recent valuation stands at $400 million.

Cobra currently contracts brewing to four plants in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Patna and Rajasthan. It is in the process of setting up its own breweries in Punjab and Hyderabad, with an investment of Rs 60-70 crore, excluding the cost of the land. The capacity of each brewery is three million cases.

Last year, Cobra sold 0.5 million cases. This year it is planning to increase it to 1 million.

The beer market is India is growing at 20 per cent annually with 130 million cases sold last year.

Industry experts said Kingfisher enjoys around 45 per market share and SABMiller (Royal Challenge, Hayward) roughly 35 per cent.

Premium lagers such as Budweiser and Heineken are also expected to enter the Indian market shortly.

"I was watching the country very carefully and when the economy turbo-charged in 2002, we made our move. The timing was perfect. I believe Cobra being a global brand and having such a strong Indian connection will benefit us," said Billimoria.