In short, the summer beer trade in Delhi has gone the way of the big names. The excise figures for May show a 10 per cent or so increase as those well-known brands have made their way back to the shelves, a far cry from last year. And if you ask the officials, it’s all part of the peak season and a bit of firmer control over how things are sold.
Market share swings back to national labels
The numbers don’t lie. This May, national brands were in 54 per cent of the market, per the excise department. Do the math: that was 24 per cent in 2025 and 38 per cent in 2024. It’s a case of re-establishing themselves in the capital’s outlets.
Of course, when the big ones do well, it’s at the cost of the rest. Imports from Nepal and Bhutan, along with some of the lesser-knowns, have seen their slice of the pie drop to 46 per cent, down from 62 per cent a year ago.
Sales momentum and what drove it
Seeing the old familiar faces on the shelf has put volume back in the ledger. We’re looking at 11,12,761 cases in May this year, versus 10,10,524 in the same month last time around. The word is that it’s simply because the products are there to be had.
National brands are where most of the new demand is coming from. They made up 5,96,351 of the cases in May, as against 2,47,143 in the period before. It shows what brand recognition can do in the dog days of summer.
A few of the salient figures:
– A 10 per cent or so jump in May sales
– 11,12,761 cases in total for this May
– 10,10,524 for last May
– 5,96,351 of those from national brands
On-trade remains a niche for draught
Packaged beer has done the heavy lifting, but draught is still very much an in-house affair. All told, 1,521 cases of draught moved in May. You have 1,365 from restaurants, 126 from clubs and 30 from the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
It’s a matter of structure. Draught is tied to the kind of footfall you get in a restaurant or club, which is a different world from the retail shelf where packaged beer is made or broken.
Enforcement and retail conduct under watch
Some of the brand pushing we saw at counters last year has led to a closer look by the authorities. One official put it this way: the excise is on top of it and will make unannounced visits to see how the market is behaving.
You can read between the lines: as the national brands come back, the regulators aren’t about to let anyone strong-arm the consumer with where they put their wares or how they sell them.
Seasonality and supply discipline
When it gets hot in Delhi, people want a cold one. That makes May and June the big months for beer, and it puts a premium on keeping the supply line steady and the shelves stocked fairly.
If you run out of a popular label for even a little while, you lose your edge. From the looks of the data, the major players have their act together this May.
Why it matters for competition
Going from 24 to 54 per cent in a year rewrites the rules a bit. It’s a squeeze on the smaller and border imports that were in a position to grow, and it will be felt in the way distributors and retailers talk business in the coming weeks.
For the buyer, it means you can find what you like. For the competition, staying in the game through June might mean better value packs or some local push, as long as you stay within the lines.
What to watch next
It comes down to two things. Can the national brands keep a consistent presence in the neighbourhood stores as the heat builds? And how will the enforcement play out, given the issues of last year and the odd surprise inspection?
Assuming they do, the 10 per cent we saw in May may well be the pattern for the rest of the season.
