A New High

In a $7 billion beer market, The Beer Café is India’s largest and fastest-growing alco-beverage brand. Here, founder Rahul Singh talks about how the Indian consumer is trading up when it comes to their favourite pints, and why tech is the way to a millennial’s beer-loving heart

- Karina Aggarwal

When Rahul Singh opened The Beer Café (TBC) at Gurugram’s Ambience Mall in 2012, he’d mortgaged his house and taken out a ₹3 crore loan, with no Plan B. His previous business, Golfworx – an indoor golf concept club – had failed; if TBC went the same way, he’d be jobless and heavily in debt. Luckily, his punt paid off: Today, the homegrown chain has expanded to 40 outlets across 13 cities, with a presence in Tier 2 cities such as Amritsar, Ludhiana, Mohali and Lucknow.

His background as a retailer – Singh was apparel director at Reebok for nearly eight years – meant an immense working knowledge of the country’s retail landscape. Within one year of opening in Gurugram, he followed through on his goal to take his café to small town India, where he saw an untapped opportunity. “India’s economic potential lies in the growth of smaller cities that have been witnessing a transformation. Higher disposable incomes for young people, greater social acceptance of alcohol consumption among men and women and a growing late-night culture are all helping the growth of beer,” says Singh. With the most recent TBC having opened at The Pavilion mall in Pune last month, he continues, “Cities like Pune and Amritsar provide similar revenues as larger metros, but give better returns on investment, as the cost of operations is low. The biggest paradox [in India] is that we have third-world sales and first-world rentals. Our business is dependent on location. And because the same catchment is being chased by everyone – from banks and clothing outlets to restaurants – rent prices are extremely high. The global benchmark for occupancy is less than 10 per cent of revenues. Here, it’s 20-30 per cent.”