<p>"Probably, we will start selling (locally brewed) Heineken by next financial year," United Breweries Limited (UBL) Senior Vice-President (Marketing) Samar S Sheikhawat told reporters here.<br /><br />He, however, did not share details on plans to brew 'Heineken' beer in India. At present, 'Heineken' is imported to India from overseas.<br /><br />After a deal struck in December last year between UB Group and Heineken, the Dutch brewer had agreed to produce and market its world-renowned beer, 'Heineken', only through UBL.<br /><br />Moreover, 'Heineken' had also agreed to transfer the Indian operations of its Singapore-based subsidiary, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), which owns the 'Tiger' beer brand, to UBL.<br /><br />On Tiger beer, Sheikhawat said: "We will relaunch Tiger beer this year. There will be certain changes in the product."UBL, the country's largest beer maker, today also announced the launch of its premium beer -- Kingfisher Ultra -- in the capital.<br /><br />The company launched the beer in September last year in four cities and had sold around 1 lakh cases till April, 2010.<br /><br />The company said it will launch the new brand in phases and expects to make a pan-India presence by next fiscal.<br /><br />United Breweries enjoys a 57 per cent share in the estimated 200 million cases domestic beer market. The company, which sold over 100 million cases of beer in 2009-10, expects a sales growth of 30-35 per cent in the current fiscal.<br /><br />The company is also looking at rolling out its own retail outlets in the near future. "We are exploring all options to open our exclusive retail outlets," Sheikhawat said.</p>
<p>"Probably, we will start selling (locally brewed) Heineken by next financial year," United Breweries Limited (UBL) Senior Vice-President (Marketing) Samar S Sheikhawat told reporters here.<br /><br />He, however, did not share details on plans to brew 'Heineken' beer in India. At present, 'Heineken' is imported to India from overseas.<br /><br />After a deal struck in December last year between UB Group and Heineken, the Dutch brewer had agreed to produce and market its world-renowned beer, 'Heineken', only through UBL.<br /><br />Moreover, 'Heineken' had also agreed to transfer the Indian operations of its Singapore-based subsidiary, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), which owns the 'Tiger' beer brand, to UBL.<br /><br />On Tiger beer, Sheikhawat said: "We will relaunch Tiger beer this year. There will be certain changes in the product."UBL, the country's largest beer maker, today also announced the launch of its premium beer -- Kingfisher Ultra -- in the capital.<br /><br />The company launched the beer in September last year in four cities and had sold around 1 lakh cases till April, 2010.<br /><br />The company said it will launch the new brand in phases and expects to make a pan-India presence by next fiscal.<br /><br />United Breweries enjoys a 57 per cent share in the estimated 200 million cases domestic beer market. The company, which sold over 100 million cases of beer in 2009-10, expects a sales growth of 30-35 per cent in the current fiscal.<br /><br />The company is also looking at rolling out its own retail outlets in the near future. "We are exploring all options to open our exclusive retail outlets," Sheikhawat said.</p>