Thirsty for more

Calcutta, Oct. 21: Denmark’s Carlsberg, a global leader in beer, will start Bengal operations by the end of this year.

The company, in partnership with two local entrepreneurs, is setting up a unit with a capacity of 1.8 million cases at Belmuri in Hooghly.

The Copenhagen-based company holds a 60 per cent stake in the venture with the local businessmen — Parag Mitra and Debasis Mukherjee — holding the rest.

“It is going to be one of the finest breweries in India, certainly matching up to Carlsberg’s international standards,” Pradeep Gidwani, managing director of South Asia Breweries Pvt Ltd, a Carlsberg group company, said.

Gidwani was in Calcutta to launch Carlsberg Lager in the city. It is being priced at Rs 40 for 330ml, which is at a premium of 50 per cent compared with regular beers.

Justifying the premium, the company said the main ingredients such as malt and hop were imported while the standards for water treatment were on a par with Carlsberg breweries globally.

The local brewery, which will entail an investment of close to Rs 80 crore, is going to be the second in Bengal after United Breweries’ Kalyani facility which was set up 35 years ago.

The market for beer in the state is about four million cases and has grown 12 per cent in the last few years.

Strong beer, with higher alcohol content, dominates the market. Carlsberg operates in the mild segment, which has a market size of seven lakh cases in Bengal. Vijay Mallya’s UB Group is the leader in the state as also in the rest of the country.

It is likely that the Carlsberg brewery in Bengal will supply to other states of the eastern region.

The company will have four breweries in India. Besides the Bengal facility, there will be plants in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

Gidwani said Carlsberg would consolidate its base in north, east and west India before venturing into the south.