Cobra beer taps Lowe for India launch

Entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria owns Cobra, the Indian brewing company he founded in the UK in 1989, which boasts sales growth of 60 per cent a year. Sanjai Srivastava, vice-president, Lowe India, said that Cobra beer's success in the UK would form part of the communication drive planned for Cobra in India. Perses Bilimoria, managing director of Cobra's India operations, said Cobra's 'Less Gassy Beer' positioning would continue, but care would be taken to ensure the brand had an ethnic flavour in its communication. Bilimoria originally sold the beer to Indian restaurants in London and thus required a less fizzy beer to sit well with diners who had gorged on rich Indian meals. "The communication will maintain the focus on the super premium category," he said. As a result of this targeting, pricing would be 10 to 15 per cent more than competitors in the same space. Worldwide, Cobra beer has a turnover of £60 million (US$113 million) and Bilimoria said that the company is looking to sell around a million cases within three years. Thus far, Cobra beer has been available in the country through the import route, but the India launch also marks the beginning of contract brewing in Rajasthan. Cobra will roll out first in metros such as Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune, before launching nationally. Srivastava said communications would primarily involve below-the-line, print and outdoor, all of which will launch within the next two months.