History of the Indian Brewery Industry

Brewing in India has a history of a few centuries, but the contemporary commercial brewery business started increasing rapidly in the twentieth century. At first, beer drinking was only permitted in a few cities and the drinking facilities inside them. Economic liberalisation, changed lifestyles and more foreign exposure ultimately led to greater consumer acceptability. 
The expansion of organised retail and hotel industry made it more accessible for customers and forced brewers to boost their production capacity. The new factories of the modern age brought with them superior brewing machinery, automated assembly lines, and better quality-control processes that resulted in more consistent products and more efficient operations. With growing customer knowledge, brewers began to diversify Indian brewery industry product lines to target diverse markets. This diversification encompassed a range of beer genres, alcohol concentrations, package sizes and taste profiles to suit evolving consumer expectations.

The Industry Powered by Market Growth and Consumer Trends 

The Indian brewery industry has benefitted from a number of long term economic and societal factors that are still in place to encourage market growth. As disposable income rises, consumers are spending more on leisure, dining out, travelling and luxury drinks, driving higher demand for beer across a range of demographics. Urbanisation has greatly helped to the expansion of industry since there are more customers with access to restaurants, bars, hotels and contemporary retail establishments. Beer has been a popular beverage for social events, celebrations and informal dining experiences among younger working professionals. Premiumisation is one of the industry’s key growth drivers.
The business has been on a continuous growth path, buoyed by rising disposable incomes, urbanisation, changing consumer lifestyles, growing hotel sectors and more acceptability of social drinking. Today, brewers produce a broad variety of beer flavours, types of packaging, and product variants to meet the needs of a varied population of consumers with varying ages and geographical preferences. Beer is one of the most consumed alcoholic drinks in India due to its comparatively low alcohol level and increasing availability throughout restaurants, hotels, pubs, retail stores and entertainment venues. In addition to growing local demand, advances in brewing technology, supply chain management and production standards have allowed the sector to compete both domestically and abroad.
In the hotel industry buying tactics are usually adapted to these demand changes. Consumer awareness has also been reinforced by digital marketing, internet involvement and evolving retail experiences. Breweries are now investing more in product innovation, appealing packaging and educating customers to get closer to the contemporary consumer. Given the changing buying habits, brewers are still focused on knowing regional preferences and growing in rising urban and semi-urban markets.