India... It's Tiger Time

To enhance its brand offerings in India, Asia Pacific Breweries Aurangabad Limited (APBAL), a subsidiary of Asia Pacific Breweries Limited (APB), today unveiled the launch of its locally-brewed Tiger beer (Tiger) in Mumbai.

Joining the ranks of Singapore, Malaysia, China and Thailand amongst others, India is the 10th country in the Asia Pacific region to brew the award-winning Tiger.

Launched in 1932, Tiger is APB's flagship brand which is enjoyed by millions of beer drinkers in more than 60 countries.Tiger is not new to the Indian beer market. All the while, the brand has been imported into India but was only made available at exclusive premium outlets. With the introduction of locally-produced Tiger by APBAL located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, the brewery is set to quench the thirst for a quality premium lager by extending the availability of the brand.Tiger will be made more widely available at the various on and off trade outlets including wine shops, pubs and restaurants amongst others, enabling the local consumers to experience the distinctive taste of the 5% alcohol European-styled lager.

On this milestone, Mr Vivek Chhabra, Regional Director, South Asia & Director, Group Business Development, APB, said, "A firm believer in brand portfolio management, APBAL seeks to enhance its brand offerings to cater to the various segments of the beer market as well as to offer its consumers greater choice. Tiger is recognised as one of Asia's finest beers and will make an ideal addition to our growing brand portfolio in India. In view of India's growing beer market, rising disposable incomes of the consumers and favourable demographics, it is timely that we now offer Tiger as a premium option to the many discerning Indian drinkers who are becoming increasingly experimental in making an informed choice. Together with our other beer brands such as Baron's Strong Brew and Cannon 10000 which cater to the strong beer segment of the Indian beer market, Tiger will aptly serve those who enjoy a beer with a marginally lower alcohol content."

Promising Indian drinkers the same distinctive quality taste that Tiger is famous for, APBAL, like other APB breweries in the region brews Tiger using only the finest ingredients - malt from Australia, the choicest hops from Europe, and a unique strain of yeast cultured in Holland. Brewed under the supervision of Heineken N.V. technical experts, APBAL adheres to the most stringent quality control management and conducts no less than 200 quality checks during the brewing process.

On Tiger's brand position in India, Mr Chetan Gupta, Marketing Manager, India for APBL, Aurangabad elaborated, "We shall focus on creating a premium proposition for Tiger. Our marketing efforts will be targeted towards building the brand's appeal among discerning young adults via slick communication, recruitment programmes as well as unique and engaging experiential platforms. We are confident that Tiger's quality and distinctive taste will resonate well with the Indian consumers while the marketing campaigns will work to win fans for Tiger, who would in turn, be the advocates for the brand for the future."

Moving forward, APBAL is set to establish a significant presence for Tiger in Mumbai and gradually rollout the brand to other parts of India. Before a pan India rollout, plans are underway to take Tiger to northern India, starting with New Delhi; as well as southern India where Andhra Pradesh will be the first to introduce Tiger there. The move is consistent with the brewer's effort to tap the growing Indian beer market which registered an estimated 10.8 million hectolitres in March 2007. The total Indian beer market is expected to reach 300 million cases (about 23.3 million hectolitres) by 2012.