Kathmandu, December 15

The trend of drinking beer in Nepal has increased in recent years and consumers are searching for diverse options making the country a good and strategic market for new beer brands, opined Wouter Peeters, VP Strategy and New Business Development, South Asia of ABInBev, a multinational drink and brewing company based in Belgium.

ABInBev, in coordination with Raj Brewery — a subsidiary of Jawalakhel Group of Industries (JGI) — is preparing to launch premium beer Budweiser in the Nepali market in May. Peeters is currently in Nepal to develop the strategy to launch the new beer brand.

“Consumers in Asia, including Nepal are open about trying new brands and are always seeking a new taste. This gives the opportunity for any beer brand to come to Nepal,” said Peeters, adding that ABInBev will try to tap this opportunity through the launch of its premium brand Budweiser. For a new brand in Asia, Peeters believes that the biggest challenge is to unleash the opportunity available in the region itself.

ABInBev believes that Budweiser, a premium beer, will become the primary choice of beer drinkers in Nepal in a short period of time. The company had launched Fosters beer three months ago in the Nepali market and Peeters says the beer is doing impressively well here. “Nepal’s market has a good space for premium beers like Budweiser and Fosters.

Though we will also bring other brands from ABInBev, we will first ensure that these two beer brands create a niche in the Nepali market,” he added.

It has been three weeks since JGI started selling the first batch of Fosters beer in Nepal.

Peeters further informed that a state-of-the-art brewery is being set up to produce the Budweiser beer in Nepal in coordination with JGI. “Once the brewery is ready, we will start producing Budweiser and send a sample of the product to ABiNBev for taste and approval.

Following the approval of the taste, we will launch Budweiser for consumers in Nepal.”

Peeters informed that Budweiser is the 27th most valuable brand in the world. With a high focus on quality, Budweiser has also been sponsoring mega football events like FIFA World Cup, LaLiga and English Premier League. “All these assets will further help Budweiser claim its stake in the Nepali market,” Peeters stated.

As a premium beer, Budweiser is expected to be comparatively costlier than the other beer brands currently available in the domestic market.