United Breweries plans slew of new products

KOLKATA: The United Breweries (UB) Group said on Monday it was planning a slew of launches over the next six months to consolidate its leadership position in the Indian alcoholic beverages industry.
The proposed launches would be spread across different spirits segments, UB chief operating officer (regional profit centre, east) D Banerjee told reporters.
Banerjee said the group would accord a lot of stress on pushing sales of its premium whisky this fiscal. Sales of its premium whisky -- which enjoys a 21 per cent market share -- was likely to jump to two lakh cases in 2003-04.
Banerjee said the group planned to raise its spirits sales in terms of volume by "about 10 per cent" in the current fiscal.
The UB group''s spirits division sold 3.08 crore cases in 2002-03, marginally above its originally-projected target.
Last year, a study done by an international research firm ranked UB as the world''s fifth largest distiller after Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Allied Domecq and Bacardi.
In December 2002, UB group firm McDowell & Company acquired a 85 per cent stake in Triumph Distillers and Vintners Private Limited which has an Indian licence to use Gilbey''s Green Label, a brand owned by Diageo Plc.
McDowell has a "call option" to buy out the remaining 15 per cent of Triumph, which is currently held by Triumph''s chief executive Deepak Roy, at the end of two years.
Indians buy about eight crore cases of spirits each year, with imports accounting for about one per cent of total consumption.