INDIA: Cobra invests £10m in Indian expansion

Karan F Bilimoria, the owner of the UK's largest selling Indian beer brand Cobra, is planning to step up his efforts for the beer brand in India after a soft launch last year. According to Indian press reports, this will include a £10m investment in a new brewery. The plans are to take Cobra and expand its distribution from Mumbai, Pune, Goa and Delhi to other cities across India. Plans to establish manufacturing in India are a consequence of the tax regime in India, which penalises imported alcohol products.

January 8, 2003

Karan F Bilimoria, the owner of the UK’s largest selling Indian beer brand Cobra, is planning to step up his efforts for the beer brand in India after a soft launch last year. According to Indian press reports, this will include a £10m investment in a new brewery.

The plans are to take Cobra and expand its distribution from Mumbai, Pune, Goa and Delhi to other cities across India. Plans to establish manufacturing in India are a consequence of the tax regime in India, which penalises imported alcohol products.

In one interview Bilimoria said: “Currently we are importing the Cobra beer into the Indian market and because of the astronomical 400% cent duties, it is expensive and currently popular only among a niche segment”.