More non-alcoholic beer coming your way

Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken, the world’s biggest brewers, are launching non-alcoholic beer of their flagship brands in India that will compete with beverages of cola giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo on supermarket shelves and restaurants.

United Breweries (UB), controlled by Heineken, is launching Heineken 0.0, a zero-alcohol version of the beer brand, while AB InBev will roll out Budweiser 0.0 next week across the country.

“There is a movement towards consuming less of carbonated sugary drinks and a need for a non-alcoholic cold refreshment in a country like ours,” said Shekhar Ramamurthy, managing director at UB which launched its first non-alcoholic beer brand Kingfisher Radler last year in Gujarat, a state where making, selling and drinking alcohol is banned since 1960.

“Adults, aged above 16-17 years, perhaps have moved out of the carbonated soft drinks category and are seeking something less sugary for refreshment,” he said.

While beer contains 1.2% to 8% alcohol by volume (ABV), non-alcoholic beer mostly has 0.05% or less ABV.

Zero alcohol beers also tend to be more profitable in the country because beer is subject to high taxes that make up for more than half the retail price.