American Brew Crafts has launched their flagship brand of beers called BlockBuster in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Pondicherry more recently. Equipped with two state-of-the-art commercial brewing plants, American Brew Crafts makes the beer in small batches giving enough attention and focus to the recipe of each beer. The breweries are set up with the latest German equipment at Sangareddy in Telangana, and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

“BlockBuster is launched with the objective to offer an unparalleled experience for connoisseurs and satiate the taste buds of the beer-drinking population in the country.” explains Satya Siva, Director of American Brew Crafts. “BlockBuster is the first product from our portfolio which is available in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Karaikkal, Andaman and Goa. We have plans of expanding our reach to at-least 12 states by the year-end. We are truly a ‘Made in India’ brand which has been scouting for a long time to source the best raw materials from the communities in our neighborhood to build a sustainable model of growth.” says Nagendra Tayi, CEO of American Brew Crafts. To understand more about his marketing strategy and perspective, we interviewed Mr. Nagendra Tayi. Read more to find out.

Tell us a bit about Blockbuster and its journey so far.

Blockbuster or BB, as it is fondly known, is the newest offering from American Brew Crafts. It was launched in Andhra Pradesh under the Ultra variant in 2019. With an average market share of 15% in the AP market, BB has performed beyond our expectations. Following this, BB was launched in Telangana in August 2021. We are currently available across Telangana with a market share of 2% and we expect to touch 10% by 2023.

How does BlockBuster Beer see itself fitting into India’s dynamic and constantly evolving commercial beer segment?

BlockBuster is launched with the objective to offer an unparalleled experience for connoisseurs and satiate the taste buds of the beer-drinking population in the country. It is our mission to infuse the market with more and more variants of beer, so that beer lovers are able to experience the best and most innovative beer brews in India. We intend to launch multiple variants like wheat, IPA and fruit based brews in the near future. We intend to constantly evolve with changing market trends and tastes.

According to you, what are the market size and consumer demand for higher ABV beers when compared to low ABV variants?

The market size of Telangana is 50 Lakhs on average and Andhra Pradesh is 15 Lakhs on average (due to the higher MRP of liquor). The markets we function within are predominantly high ABV markets with the consumer preferring products that are deemed value for money. Telangana is a 60% strong market with a fair share of lager in the towns and cities. Same goes for Andhra. Goa on the other hand is primarily a lager market for us.

How does the BlockBuster brand stand apart from your portfolio of other sibling variants such as Khajuraho?

Khajuraho is a brand we do not own. We had taken a lease of the brand name to generate a foothold in the market. BlockBuster is a completely owned product.

Do you plan on launching draught beers across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh now that you’ve secured a dispensing system?

BlockBuster draught is currently available in 60 outlets across Telangana. We aim to expand the presence significantly over the next few months. We will be starting our draught operations in AP in 2023.

Could you tell us about the variants that are currently available in the market and the states they are available in?

BlockBuster is available in Lager, Strong, Ultra Lager, and Ultra Strong. These variants are available in 650ML, 330ML, and 500ML Cans. Blockbuster is currently available in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Karaikkal, Andaman and Goa. We have plans to expand to Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Delhi by the end of 2022.