Carlsberg Case Study

About Carlsberg India

Indian consumers have been experiencing Carlsberg since the 1900s, much before it commenced
operations in India in 2007. In 1912, McDowell & Co. Ltd., Madras, ordered the first delivery of 10
cases of quarters and 10 cases of pints each of Carlsberg Munich and Pilsner Beer. Over the years
there were many companies and agents that have brought Carlsberg to India.

However, coming to India in its own identity was a matter of time and Carlsberg entered India in
May 2006 by incorporating a company named South Asia Breweries Pvt. Ltd. The name was changed
to Carlsberg India Private Limited on February 23, 2009 to reflect the company as a part of the
Carlsberg Group.

In 2013, Carlsberg India inaugurated its 6th Brewery in Dharuhera, Haryana and in 2014 its 7th
Brewery in Patna, Bihar was established. In January 2018, Carlsberg India established its brewery in
Mysuru, Karnataka. The growth started from 5 markets in 2007 to 24 markets in 2008 to 32 markets
(including Union Territories) to date.

The success of Carlsberg’s products globally and in India, can be attributed to the quality
consciousness, the know-how and the technological proficiency developed by the breweries.

The impressive beer portfolio in India ranges across mild and strong segments through the
international brands Carlsberg Green, Carlsberg Elephant, Tuborg Green, Tuborg Strong and Tuborg
Classic.

With brewery expansion, market penetration, quality brands and strong teams, Carlsberg India saw
initial success by becoming the number 3 player in the market within its first 4 years of operation.
Location of the Plant

There are 7 breweries spread across different parts of India.

1. PAONTA SAHIB BREWERY- Carlsberg's commercial operations started in June 2007 with the
commencement of production at an acquired Brewery at Paonta Sahib, in Himachal Pradesh.

2.ALWAR BREWERY- In March 2008, Carlsberg expanded its operations by establishing its second
Brewery in Alwar, Rajasthan.

3. AURANGABAD BREWERY- In August 2008, Carlsberg India inaugurated another brewery in

4. KOLKATA BREWERY- In our mission to expand our reach to Indian consumers, in June 2009,
Carlsberg India established a brewery in Hoogly (near Kolkata) West Bengal.

5. HYDERABAD BREWERY- In December 2010, Carlsberg India inaugurated its 5th brewery in District
Medak, Andhra Pradesh thereby re-emphasizing the Carlsberg Group's strategic focus on India.

6. DHARUHERA BREWERY-On 7th May 2013, Carlsberg India inaugurated its 6th Brewery in
Dharuhera, Haryana.

7. MYSURU BREWERY- On 24th January 2018, Carlsberg India inaugurated its new Brewery in
Mysuru, Karnataka.

Product Line Up:

1. Carlsberg Elephant

2. Carlsberg Smooth

3. Tuborg Green

4. Tuborg Strong

5. Tuborg Classic with Scotch Malts

Target Audience:

The new positioning has a revised and more specific target audience. Earlier, Carlsberg had a broad
and relatively mature target audience. It will continue to target this group, and also expand its focus
to include the younger generation of beer drinkers - the audience in the 28+ age bracket.

Problems faced by Carlsberg

1. Advertising alcoholic beverages has been banned in India as per the Cable Television
Network (Regulation) Amendment Bill which came into effect on 8 September 2000. As Government
of India does not allow Advertising products which are harmful to consumers like liquor, cigarettes,
Gutka etc., these companies cannot advertise their brand name by making music CDs, kingfisher
packaged water, red &white bravery award etc. These companies produce and sell CDs, packaged
water to advertise their liquor brand. This helps them to be inside the legal system and cannot be
banned. In India, it is illegal to directly advertise alcohol so the brands advertise in indirect ways
which in marketing terms it is called surrogate advertising. India is the third largest liquor market in
the world and bigger companies like Carlsberg needs bigger solutions for earning bigger profits.

2. Carlsberg is mostly popular in the urban areas specially the metro cities but it has less
penetration in the tier-2, tier-3 cities as people in these cities prefer economical alternatives of beer
such as Kingfisher or some local brands majorly due to the less popularity of the brand among the
consumers.

Problem Description:

Carlsberg India is planning to expand the tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The challenges they face are
in terms of advertising in these cities in the broadcast media. However, majority of people are also
unaware about Carlsberg as an international brand. Consumers are price conscious but they are not
aware about the quality Carlsberg provides with respect to its competitors given the slight high
price. How should Carlsberg go about it?

Approach to the Problem:

 Digital marketing on social media, using internet as a marketing space to promote what the
product stands for and their advantages.
 Sponsoring events which involve young age groups (21-35) to promote their products in tier
2 and tier 3 cities.
 Collaborating with specific outlets in tier 2 and 3 cities to make Carlsberg as their flagship
product for the store and have certain combo offers associated with it.