Beer demand in India is at an all-time high, and air conditioner sales are surging as the country’s harsh, unprecedented heat benefits some consumer firms. Temperatures in the Indian capital, Delhi have risen to nearly 50 degrees Celsius in recent weeks.
Scientists claim that the scorching summer has become even more extreme as a result of human-induced climate change. While rain fell on Delhi on June 28, numerous northern locations, like as Punjab, had temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on June 27.
According to Vinod Giri of the Brewers’ Association of India, which speaks for major beer companies like Carlsberg, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and United Breweries, beer sales will increase by 10% this summer. Demand is also at its best level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this very hot weather, he said, Indians “feel better without getting too high on beer” when they drink beer.
Power use has also reached a record high as more people look for ways to cool off.
Blue Star’s managing director, B. Thiagarajan, said that in the more than 30 years he has worked in the industry, he has never seen such high air conditioner sales.
He said it was a “mad rush” and that anything called an air conditioner would have sold.
India is quickly becoming more wealthy, and Thiagarajan said that sales of all air conditioners will rise by 50% from April to June, which is more than the 25% to 30% increase in demand that the industry was expecting.
A strong summer is also good for other businesses.
Quick delivery service Swiggy Instamart said that calls for ice cream and cold drinks have increased sharply.
Walmart’s Indian e-commerce site Flipkart said that between February and May 2024, demand for high-end sunscreen goods rose 40% compared to last year. Sunscreen sticks were especially popular.
Because of his job, S. Dinesh, 27, has to be in the sun all day. He says, “Heatwaves made me use sunscreen like three or four times a day.”
But while the heat makes more people want to buy some online items, it’s making things harder to handle because more delivery workers are getting sick, according to Ajay Rao, CEO of Emiza, a transportation company that works with Flipkart and Mamaearth.
“People are not able to actually cope with the outside temperatures,” he told Reuters.
India’s choosing beer over whiskey and rum
Beer drinking in India has seen a big change over the past few years. Once dominated by whiskey and rum, the Indian alcohol market is now embracing beer with open arms. Young urbanites, especially in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi, are driving this change.
There are craft breweries opening up everywhere, each with its own flavors that suit the tastes of the area. The beer scene is growing quickly, and well-known names like Kingfisher and Budweiser are helping it along. More and more young workers are going to bars and pubs to meet new people and have fun.
Beer sales are also showing this change, with steady annual increases. People still really like drinks, but beer is making its own place in the market. Beer is becoming more popular because people are changing the way they live and want to drink more socially and casually.
People with more money and more exposure to the world drinking culture are more likely to follow this trend. India is quickly becoming a major player in the world beer business because of this.
Source: Reuters