Making bottled craft beer the new normal for serious beer drinkers in India

Intro: Summary

An acceleration in the disposable income of the middle class, the rise of the millennials and generation z, quest to experience novel products were the backdrop on which Wishbox Studio devised a strategy to promote Simba.

Key Statistics

As per GlobalData, “The India Craft Beer market is projected to have reached 43 million litres in 2019 from 0.15 million litres in 2014. It has grown a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 304% during the period 2014 and 2018. It has grown a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 304% during the period 2014 and 2018. Wishbox Studio had associated with Simba at a stage when it had to educate the media and the end consumer about the craft beer. Now in 2020, All India Brewers Association estimates sales of craft beers to grow at 20 percent y-o-y, which is higher than 5-7 percent y-o-y growth in the beer market. When Simba had come on board then it was present in New Delhi, Goa and Chhattisgarh but in the span of the last two years it expanded to Mumbai, Bangalore, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and even launched Lager in the metros.

The Context

India has always been a land that appreciated the hard spirits. It is in the last five years that the popularity of the beer has increased in India. Though the per capita consumption of beer is still very low as compared to other nations yet India is now gradually shifting towards consuming beer on daily basis. On the other hand, craft beer can be considered as a drink for consumers who have an “acquired” taste or are experimental. Craft beer is extremely different from its other counterparts as it is brewed in small batches using local ingredients. The researchers have also seen an increase in popularity of the craft beer over the past three years specifically in the metro cities of India. It is quite common to see lovers of this sunlight in a bottle, sipping mugs of craft over a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The time was ripe since the Indian consumer was then ready to experiment with novel flavours. It is at this juncture, that the brand Simba decided to enter the market.

Entrepreneur Prabhtej Singh Bhatia decided to bring the art of bottling flavorsome craft beer right to the country with their flagship brewery in Durg, Chhatisgarh, and capture the heart of the consumer that wanted a quality beer. They decided to partner with us to spread the mission of authentic, well-crafted beer, that used the finest of ingredients. There has been no looking back since.

The Brief

Simba partnered with Wishbox Studio in 2018 at a very crucial stage for strategic communication, in order to blitz the biggest markets of Delhi and Goa. Our task was to develop the image of the brand as a pioneer in the indigenous craft beer industry by showcasing some of its unique USPs in the saturated alcohol (beer) market of India. The messaging which we wanted to spread was that Simba crafts its beer at its flagship brewery in Durg and that the brand first tried water in the tier-II cities before launching in the metros.

The Problem

Simba was competing in a highly volatile market which was dominated by Indian brands like Bira, White Owl and was facing a tough competition with international brands too.

The brand needed a strong narrative that would reach out to the consumer and stand-out for its supremely fine quality, well-crafted beer which was made in India. They had to thus create a niche for themselves in a highly competitive industry, with already established players.

Identifying Brand USPs

Unlike many of its competitors, Simba brews its beer at the flagship brewery in Durg thus propelling the “Made in India” concept

It is bottled craft beer. In fact, the Simba Stout is India’s first bottled stout.

Extensively developed recipes that have been flavourfully crafted with care, using the finest malts and hops.

Made by authentic beer lovers who truly appreciate the art of quality beer making.

They brew their own beer and are highly particular about the ingredients and processes they use in crafting their beers. It’s all about quality! Players like Bira, who earlier imported their beer also followed suit seeing Simba’s success

Simba uses the difficult process of using fresh water from a nearby river, as opposed to using underground water, as is done by other companies which makes it eco friendly and sustainable!

The Strategy

To get a strong and steady stream of media attention for this new brand in the market, team Wishbox decided to amplify Simba’s presence in the business press and highlighted how it is a disruptor in its domain.

This strategy not only presented Simba as the most sought after homegrown craft beer brand but also as a company that branched out from the tier-II cities. The team highlighted how the founder is a beer enthusiast who takes brewing beer seriously and has a penchant to brew fresh beer for the patrons.

Our aim was to leverage Simba as a millennial’s choice and create strong brand equity in a competitive market.

The Approach

Wishbox decided to position the brand with a very fun and bold image, that resonated immediately with the millennials. The story was to sing the song of how Simba was a disrupter of the craft beer industry because of its choicest ingredients and authentically crafted beers. This approach helped the brand to expand its presence from 2 to 15 cities in a short span of two years.

With the brand’s craft beer showing increasing growth pan-India, we adopted a holistic approach of connecting with the online and offline media to generate the buzz. Our core ideology was to ‘tell the right story at the right time’, with a communication strategy that re-enforced Simba as a leader in the industry and the most preferred brand by serious beer-lovers.

Influencer Management

We knew that the brand’s consumers were on Instagram hence we decided to engage with social media influencers and artists to further the brand’s visibility. We successfully positioned Simba as one of India’s leading craft beer brands, becoming the first brewer to distribute worldwide in tier 2 cities.

Being an innovative communication’s advisors, we consulted the brand in collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, leveraged right topical opportunities to create a celebrity connect which carved a niche and narrated its indigenous factors to the world.

Our approach was phased into three parts to sustain the momentum and keep the brand in limelight throughout the tenure of the contract.

Phase 1- To Connect with the Key Mouthpieces

Our very first step was to organise dozens of media interactions to grab the limelight for this emerging brand. Our corporate media strategy for Simba was to discuss How Home-grown Liquor Brands/Indian Craft beer brand give International Brands a Run for Their Money. We aligned one-on-one interviews, initiated expert opinion for industry stories and explored various platforms for speakership opportunities which formed a predominant part in leading us to some great coverage in publications like ET Prime, The Ken, CNBC TV18, The Economic Times, The Financial Express, Man’s World, Business Today, Popxo, Daily Hunt and more.

We also strategically used the founder of the brand Prabhtej Singh Bhatia to establish credibility and create awareness with standalone stories in BusinessWorld.com, Business World Hotelier, Entrepreneur, Your Story, MoneyControl, India Today, Mint, TOI, Business Insider, FHM and the likes.

It was also of prime importance to target specific consumers and for this, we reached out to food and lifestyle influencers, entrepreneurs of Delhi & Mumbai for getting social media reviews on their highly active social media accounts. Simba got a huge thumbs up from some known personalities like Anaita Shroff Adjania, Malishka, Akanksha Redhu, Shikha Talsania, Jim Sarbh, Karishma Sakhrani, Sakhilugani, RasnaBhasin, Thepinkpostinc founders, Janice Sequieira, Chef Amninder Sandhu, Ankush Bhaguna, Akshar Pathak, Nitibha Kaul, Settlesubtle, Devikanaraindcompany, Sona Mohapatra and so many more.