Bira 91 to enter non-alcoholic beverages segment: Report

Bira 91, known for its beer, is ready to kick start its non-alcoholic beverages segment with carbonated drinks, juices, energy and sports drinks and sparkling water.

As per the company regulatory filings, the board of Bira 91 has given a nod to a special resolution to alter the main object clause of the company to accommodate the sales, manufacture and export of non-alcoholic beverages. The company is also expected to sell soda, tea and coffee.

Bira 91’s move into the non-alcoholic beverages segment is a departure from the company’s earlier plans to launch 40-50 different limited release beers.

As per news source, the company will start manufacturing the non-alcoholic products sometime in early 2021. “The company has been hit hard due to the pandemic. Apart from its core offerings, it has to figure out new ways to scale and raise funds,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. “Bira has built a decent brand in the beer segment and the company thinks the brand recall would work in pushing new offerings.”

It’s worth noting that Bira 91 had rolled out a range of merchandising products such as growlers, glasses, mugs, ice-bucket and apparel in late 2018. Soon after opening a new line of business, Bira 91 announced plans to churn over 3% of its revenues from the segment in FY20.

While the company has not filed its annual financial statement for FY20, it had registered a mild growth of 15.4% in revenue to Rs 183 crore in FY19 as compared to Rs 158.6 crore in FY18. During the period, its losses jumped 2X to Rs 202.2 crore.