Bira 91, a craft beer company, has announced a $70 million Series D funding round led by Kirin Holdings, a leading Japanese beer company. The funds will be used to increase production capacity by commissioning new breweries and expanding existing facilities, according to a statement from the company. It also stated that the funds will be used to expand the company’s distribution footprint across the country and internationally, as well as to strengthen Bira 91’s product development and innovation capabilities.
“As the fifth largest economy in the world, with increasing digitalisation and a stable, growth-oriented government, we are very excited to invest further in the country’s “Make in India” journey,” said Hiromasa Honda, Managing Director, Kirin Holdings Singapore. We believe that Bira 91 has the potential to premiumise Indian beer through innovation by brewing the highest quality products for the country’s consumers. We also believe that over the long term, Bira 91 has the potential to break out internationally as a global brand.”
Bira 91 recently announced its intention to become the country’s first carbon-neutral beer company, and has established the B9-Kirin Center for Sustainable Growth at its New Delhi headquarters, where technical and strategy experts from Kirin are assisting the Indian company in its pursuit of Net Zero.
We have formed a unique partnership with Kirin that goes beyond capital and is driven by our long-term purpose – our purpose to drive the shift in beer toward more flavour, our purpose to become global leaders in innovation and sustainability, said Ankur Jain, CEO and Founder of B9 Beverages.
“Because of our partnership with Kirin, our intention to create a brand “Imagined in India, for the World” with a strong, world-class manufacturing base in India has accelerated tremendously.” As we look forward to drive strong growth in revenue, market share, and profitability over the next few decades, we are excited to deepen this long-term partnership further,” Jain added.
The company, which was founded in 2015, claims to have a presence in 550 towns across 18 countries. The Beer Café, a beer-pub chain, was also recently acquired by the company.
Japanese beverages group Kirin has increased its stake in B9 Beverages, close to 20% from 10% by investing an additional 570 crore, valuing the beer maker at $550-600 million post the fundraise.
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