The idea was unexpected because Karan Bilimoria, son of General Bilimoria - hero of 1971 war -- had just graduated in law from Cambridge University and nobody expected him to plunge from Cambridge into beer. But he took the plunge, and came out a winner.
From his early beginnings in 1989, he has carried his Cobra Beer successfully, while passing some difficult humps. It is now an accompaniment to the Indian meal and more. Its sales are on the rise in the Indian restaurant and also it standalone sales are picking up in super markets and at pubs such as this close to the legal heart of London. This year Cobra sales around the world are set to top Rs 1,000 crore.
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Karan Bilimoria talks about the journey so far and his future plans.
Below is the transcript of Karan Bilimoria's interview with Sanjay Suri on CNBC-TV18.
Q: So the sparkle is back and business is flowing smoothly as Cobra should, where do we go from here?
A: It has been a lovely long journey. Short in the terms for beer brand because Cobra Beer is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year and we have come a long way since we have started importing the beer from Bangalore into the UK and selling it from the back of our battered car door-to-door to the Indian restaurants and the grocery shops and here we are, 24 years later in 98.6 percent of all the licensed Indian restaurants in the UK and in almost all the big super markets and now making an entry into the pubs and the bars throughout the UK.
Q: The pubs is where it all happens and you are now selling in pubs and in mainstream restaurants in super markets, how big is this market?
A: Our foundation has always been the Indian restaurants, the curry restaurants and I will always be grateful to the restaurateurs for their support without which we wouldn't be where we are today. The beauty about Cobra is when I created it as a brand, it was to be a beer that sits in between a lager and an ale, the refreshment of a lager and the smoothness of an ale combined. So we have a widely appealing taste to men and women, to people anywhere in the world and also to accompany food, especially Indian food and curry but also on its own. In that sense Cobra works beautifully in a pub and a bar and of course in the UK, we have this wonderful culture where pubs are part of the community and for Cobra's growth potential in the future, our expansion to pubs is crucial and we are making wonderful already.
Q: It has been your dream of course that Cobra is a very natural and lovely accompaniment to a curry as it is still called. But that the beer should standalone without having to lean on anything for support, are you nearing that dream?
A: I have always believed that Cobra would be a journey and the journey would start in Indian restaurants and would always stay as a foundation in restaurants but if it will also expand in the super markets and the pubs and the bars and also exported around the world and Cobra has now been exported to 40 countries around the world. Also now produced in India for the Indian market, which we are very proud of and it is growing rapidly there. So yes, Cobra is now -- also what has been proven time and again since 2001 when we first entered the Monde Selection World Quality Awards, we entered one Cobra and got one gold medal and that was so exciting. Fast forward from 2001 to now and I am proud to say -- we won 78 gold medals in the Monde Selection World Quality Awards. So one of the two most awarded beers in the world in the Monde Selection and people now recognise Cobra as a great beer, it is one of the best beers in the world.
Q: 100 million pounds worth of sales in Britain and in India this year, any plans for significant new placement of capital for further expansion?
A: We have a joint venture with Molson Coors, one of the largest brewers in the world who have giant breweries Molson Coors in the United States of America (USA), in Denver, have the biggest brewery in the world. That one brewery can produce more beer than the whole of India's beer production of all the breweries in India put together. The brewery in the UK, where we brew global beer, is the largest brewery in Britain. That one brewery has a capacity to brew well over half of all the beer produced throughout India. So they are giant brewers and we have enormous capabilities to expand. In India we have a brewery in Bihar, we have contract brewery in other states in India and are available in about six states throughout India at the moment.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Cobra Beer's journey to London restaurants, pubs
Dengan url
http://kebugaranhidup.blogspot.com/2014/09/cobra-beers-journey-to-london.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Cobra Beer's journey to London restaurants, pubs
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Cobra Beer's journey to London restaurants, pubs
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar