Every business comes with its own risks and opportunities. In this kind of a scenario, the viability of a business comes out to be of great concern. Viability refers to the measure of long-term survival of a business and its ability to sustain profit over a period of time.
This article focuses on the viability of microbreweries in India. A brewery is a place at which making and selling of beers take place. Then what is microbrewery? Here is a brief outlook-
Brewery v/s Microbrewery
“A microbrewery is a brewery that produces beer but, of limited quantity i.e. they tend to brew beers in-house and that too in a limited amount. Unlike the corporate breweries they do not pack and add preservatives to keep beer for long-term. They focus more on quality, flavor and brewing technique”.
Microbrewery in India:
The present statistics say, microbrewery business is booming in India and the way Indians recognize beers, is getting better. Indians used to have exposure to only one kind of beer- ‘The commercial Lager’ in earlier time which were generally bottled beers. They may be as old as five months when you take it and have gone through temperature and weather variations as well as transportation conditions. Because of this, India experienced the rise of ‘Independent breweries’. These independent breweries produce from 5000 to 50000 liters of beer, a day.
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Creativity is what makes the business different. Microbreweries provide a wide and fresh variety of beers. Reports say that Indians are now looking for a better quality as well as a large range of choices in beers. The above scenario concludes that establishing a microbrewery in India will prove to be fruitful if the quality, quantity, and range are not compromised.
Some brewers still believe that this has a long way to go as many of the Indians are confined to the ‘Bottled’ concept. They are still not aware of the microbreweries around. But, efforts are being made by the brewers to attract the consumers and make them understand the whole processing.
Getting Licenses:
The requirements for the set-up of a microbrewery include-
• Authorized individual
• Approved premises for storing and brewing
• Beer manufacturing licenses.
The state excise department of GoI issues license for a microbrewery or brewpub. This allows the company to start commercial operations and productions.Earlier, the price for the license used to be around 10 lakhs per year. But, due to recent developments, it has reduced to around 25000 per year. This value differs from state to state.
The state excise government issues the license for a microbrewery or brewpub. This allows the company to start commercial operations and productions. Earlier, the price for the license used to be around 10 lakhs per year. But, due to recent developments, it has reduced to around 25000 per year. This value differs from state to state.
As per research of All India Brewers Association (AIBA) the beer market was expected to grow to 430 billion by the end of 2017.
Places with Lovely microbreweries in India:
Let us see where you can find them in India. Here is a list of some of the popular microbreweries of India along with the cities they are located in
Doolally:
It is the first ever microbrewery started in India. The microbrewery was established in 2009, in Pune. It has helped in the growth of other microbreweries too. Doolally microbrewery has brought a change in the laws of excise department. In 2015, a new branch named ‘Doolally Taproom’ was opened in Mumbai.
Windmills Craftworks:
It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka and serving as one of the top microbreweries of India. It is much known for ales.
7 Degree Brauhaus:
Freshly brewed German beers are the cause of attraction to this place. It is located in Gurugram, Haryana.
The Biere Club:
This is another brewpub from Bangalore which is amongst the leading ones. The Biere Club is very much focused on bringing a quality beer to the table. It is supposed to be the first ever established microbrewery in South India. The brewery offers legends including Lagers, wheat, stouts, ales and coffee flavored stouts.
Toit Brewpub:
This brewpub also has its locations in Bengaluru. It seems Bengaluru is very much aware as well as interested in Fresh Beer. This brewpub is serving its customers with a wide variety of beer and is quiet popular one among beer lovers.
The list can go on and on as the Micro brewing industry saw a huge development in India in last few years. There were over 100 brewpubs established in last 10 years. But, the main centers for this business are Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Kolkata, and Goa.
Challenges:
Along with the growing market, there are a lot of challenges faced by the Indian Microbrewers.
Getting license is one of the biggest among them because of the excise policies. As can be seen, the national capital, Delhi, is still not on the list holding any microbreweries. This is because it is difficult to get the permissions for microbreweries in India and hence, many people leave the idea of a business like this.
Capital plays a great role in every business and running a microbrewery needs a lot of capital. Thus, getting loan is an other challenge faced by this industry.
Competition is increasing with the growing trends. Microbreweries are innovating. They are coming up with new flavors, varieties, tastes. The quality is a getting more and tougher for the brewing companies.
Is it a good choice to land into this business as a startup?
The business seems to be great and it has experienced a great hike in its success ratio in the last few years. Its failure depends on the handling strategies. As seen from the recent trends, it will be great to land in this industry, as they are still less in number, in India. As a startup, one will have to face a lot of challenges but still, if you are really passionate about the business and have the creativity, ability to come up with new ideas and challenges, ability to attract customers and grow the revenue, then you can surely succeed. It would be a good choice to have a proper research and evaluation before proceeding.
Hope the article was helpful in providing a basic knowledge of the industry and its requirements.
