The maker of Bira 91, a popular Indian craft beer with bottles sporting sketches of a quirky monkey with a punk hairdo, has raised $50 million, or Rs 335 crore, according to news report.
The funding round for B9 Beverages, the company that owns the Bira 91 brand, was led by Belgian family-owned fund Sofina, and also saw the participation of the existing investor Sequoia Capital. With these funds the company plans to create a meaningful international business in Asia and the US.
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B9 Beverages was founded in 2015 by New Delhi-based entrepreneur Ankur Jain. It initially manufactured Bira 91—the name references India’s international phone code—in Belgium.
But supply chain problems and high costs made it difficult to compete against market leaders Kingfisher, SAB Miller India and Carlsberg. Though the company started production in India in late 2016, it still sources toddy for Bira’s wheat variant, Bira White, from Canada or Europe to ensure quality.
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B9 has raised more than $100 million since its inception in mid 2015. The company currently sells five variants of its beer across seven states covering 15 Indian cities. It has also launched its brand in New York, New Jersey, Boston and Philadelphia in the US.