Today we’re going to be discussing everything beer. A drink loved by many and can satisfy different types of taste buds. The evidence of the origin of Beer can be dated to the Far East Asian region and later lager brewing arose in the 15th Century in Bavaria. Bing, J et. al(2014) and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world after water and tea. India was introduced to Beer by the British in the 18th century. Since then Beer has come to be a popular drink among Indian consumers. Indians, in general, prefer Strong beers up until different breweries began popping up in the country introducing more variety. Most companies mass-produced beer in India and that trend had been going on for a very long time. The likes of United Breweries (47.8% market share), Anheuser-Busch InBev (20%) etc are companies controlling the majority of the Indian market which is mass-produced. Beer & Cider Industry Profile: India (2019)
Craft Beer arrived on the Indian shores only in 2009 with a few brewpubs opening in Delhi and Bangalore. Ankur Jain (the Beerpreneur behind Bira91) realized how the Indian market was dominated by Mass breweries and a niche market for Craft Beer was untapped. After spending time in the United States where Craft Beer held a major market share in the country. The idea of entering the niche Craft Beer market in India thus began to take shape.
The Indian consumers are relatively slow to adopting something new unless gift wrapped and presented in an extravagant manner. And Bira91, a new brand of craft beer was introduced to the Indian consumers’ gift wrapped in a similar way targeting the young urban population with a focus on taste, flavor, and quality. Indian consumers prefer strong beers in a 650ml bottle sold in retail outlets. But Bira91 was introduced to turn conventional wisdom on its head by doing the exact opposite, with the revers B as seen below in the logo signifying just that and the 91 is the country code of India.
Source: https://www.bira91.com/
Bira91 first reached the Indian consumers through Pubs and Restaurants instead of the traditional route of being sold in retail outlets. It was available only in the city of Bangalore with a lot of focus on brand’s merchandise being sold wherever Bira91 was served. Bira91 beer came in 330ml bottles with more flavored varieties and resonated with the urban Millenials due to its trendy packaging. This craft beer became a product many Pubs in the city wanted on their beverage list at any cost. Bira91 sold out very quickly due to the buzz it created.
Source: Bira91 Youtube Channel
Word of mouth and Scarcity of the product were the two major factors that led to Bira91 becoming the most popular craft beer in the country. There were no marketing campaigns involved. The brand connected with the consumers because of a trendy and quirky look and taste like no other beer on the market. There were not many pubs that had access to Bira91 and with scarcity involved more urban consumers wanted to try it and even local restaurants were willing to pay a premium in order to stock the beer. Many restaurant and pubs lost customers if Bira91 wasn’t available. Bira91 became a drink every Millenials wanted in their hand, making a product scares made the product even more popular. The buzz Bira91 created led to its rise in the Indian Craft Beer space which was a niche market.
At one point there was a shortage of Bira91 due to the brand becoming an overnight success with the young consumers in India. The company was forced to scale up its business in other cities due to the demand and began expanding. Slowly Bira91 started different campaigns to further boost its presence in the market by introducing Sub-brands like Bira Freeflow festival, Bira91 Fools Festival, Bira91 hot sauce in an attempt to create a stronger brand association in the mind of consumers.
Source: Twitter account: Bira91
Bira 91 has had successful social media campaigns, for instance, the brand rolled out an opportunity for Bira 91 fans to showcase their creativity and augment their brand recall with the help of their brand mascot. By taking a screenshot of a blank template of the Bira 91 mascot, participants could then color the mascot any way they liked and send in the entries to the brand by uploading their entry as an Instagram post and tagging Bira 91.
A snapshot of the campaign below.
Source: Bira 91 Instagram account
During the ICC cricket world, 2019 Bira91 became an official partner of the event. The brand had huge customer engagement on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Source: http://www.socialsamosa.com/2019/07/cwc19-bira-91-world-cup-strategy-review/
And add to the Buzz Ed Sheeran was seen drinking a Bira91 beer at the event but the company didn’t capitalize on this opportunity and losing out a window to make a bigger impact with this kind of exposure during such an important event.
Source: Twitter
In a span of 2 years, Bira 91 became the most talked-about and loved craft beer in the country. A brand urban millennial consumers in India love to drink and associate itself with. I do believe word of mouth is an effective tool to market products and with social media trending today, the combination can surely help brands reach a wider audience.
Do you think Word of mouth marketing is more powerful than traditional advertising? Why?
Other Sources: https://www.euromonitor.com/beer-in-india/report
Bing, J., Han, P., Liu, W., Wang, Q., & Bai, F. (2014). Evidence for a Far East Asian origin of lager beer yeast. Current Biology, 24(10), R380-R381.
MarketLine Industry Profile: Beer & Cider in India. (2019). Beer & Cider Industry Profile: India, N.PAG. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=134358616&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Joshua Salvador Avelino D'souza 