Brands

Digital promotions & Kingfisher’s popularity to lead Ultra Witbier in craft beer segment

Published

6 years ago

December 13, 2019

MUMBAI: Traditionally known to be a whiskey and rum market, India, in the past few years, has developed a fine taste for beers as well. They have started differentiating and accepting that beer, amongst the larger alco-beverage offerings, offers refreshment in a far more suitable manner across a larger number of occasions. They are open to trying newer brands and variants of the drink, which has become omnipresent at all parties.

United Breweries is one of the largest players in India’s beer market and has been serving its loyal patrons for many decades now. Now, with an intention to provide adequate choices and variety in its portfolio, the brand has recently launched its first craft beer, the Kingfisher Ultra Witbier, which it terms as an authentic Belgian Wheat beer.

Indiantelevision.com got in touch with United Breweries Ltd head of marketing Gurpreet Singh to know about the brand’s strategy with the new offering and their marketing plans.

We were keen to know if they have purposefully launched the beer near the Christmas and New Year, but Singh told us otherwise. He candidly said that the brand was busy running extensive research and tests for the development of the product and it is just an added advantage that the final offering got ready close to the festive season.

Elaborating more on the approach, Singh said, “Over the years, we have been observing that there is a small section of consumers who have shown growing interest in alternate categories of beers. The craft beer space is an interesting development in the beer category, having grown from just a few microbreweries initially to now a host of craft beers in the pre-packed format as well. Some of the offerings in this craft space such as the wheat beers have seen consistent demand which has continued to show signs of growth, displaying adequately a strong trend line.”

He added, “The wheat beer segment within the various craft offerings therefore have interested us and we have spent some time understanding how the taste preferences towards this variety has developing and where the gaps and opportunities lie. We did not want to rush in to this segment since these are complex beers and we ran extensive tests across key markets.”

Singh is hopeful that consumers will ‘enjoy’ this new years’ ‘gift’ from the house of UB.

Kingfisher Ultra Witbier has already been put on shelves across the states of Karnataka and Goa and will soon be available in Maharashtra, Delhi, and Haryana.

Speaking about the launch plan, Singh shared that the initial focus for them is going to be digital media as a medium of marketing to build awareness, coupled with on-ground visibility across channels, and an aggressive trial generation plan. “The retailers too will find the Ultra Witbier an easy brand to recommend to their regular consumes. The brand Kingfisher Ultra is well known and retailers trust the consistent quality and supply that UB brings to the table,” he noted.

Though Kingfisher is known for its impressive lineup of brand ambassadors from the cricketing world, it is skipping having one for the new offering for now and is creating its marketing strategy only around the craft beer.

Singh shared, “We are currently keeping the narrative entirely about the beer. The marketing is entirely positioned around the authenticity of the brew right from the origins of its ingredients to its style of brewing."

Further elaborating on the marketing plan, he said, “We are sampling the Ultra Witbier to the beer connoisseurs and we expect their reviews and opinions to influence the other consumers. We are supremely confident of the product and expect the trickle-down effect of this knowledge transfer to eventually influence a large cross section of the beer consumers across the country. Social media and digital marketing will help reach this message to the larger masses.”

On being asked how is it planning to compete with the already existing and prominent craft beer brands, Singh showed good faith in the propensity the consumers have towards Kingfisher’s products.

He said, “In this small segment of wheat beers there is already a host of brands that are available. In a crowded shelf of wheat beers the familiarity of a Kingfisher Ultra name and the trust that consumers have towards the quality of our beers will go a long way in generating trials not just with the existing craft beer consumers but also many other consumers who are open to experimentation.”

Up Next

BARC Week 49: Across genres list shared equally by Hindi and South Indian GECs

Don't Miss

BARC week 49: Zee TV grabs second position on pay platform

Click to comment

Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

Brands

BCCL profit jumps 53 per cent in FY25 as tax bill shrinks

Revenue rises 4.3 per cent to Rs 10,209.33 crore while deferred tax gain lifts bottom line sharply

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) has posted a sparkling set of financial results for the year ended 31 March 2025, proving that there is still plenty of ink and gold left in the ledger.

Revenue from operations climbed a steady 4.3 per cent, reaching Rs 10,209.33 crore compared to Rs 9,786.44 crore the previous year. When you sprinkle in other income, which rose 8.9 per cent to Rs 949.36 crore, the total income for the media behemoth hit a healthy Rs 11,158.69 crore.

While the income grew at a modest pace, the bottom line tells a far more dramatic story. The real headline is the 53 per cent surge in annual profit. How did they pull off such a feat? While Profit Before Tax (PBT) saw a gentle nudge upward of 2.7 per cent to Rs 1,610.00 crore, it was a vanishing act by the taxman that really did the trick.

Total tax expenses plummeted by 32.4 per cent, dropping from Rs 468.76 crore down to Rs 316.97 crore. This was largely thanks to a swing in deferred tax, moving from an expense of Rs 156.02 crore in FY24 to a benefit of Rs 39.44 crore this year.

Total income rose from Rs 10,658.55 crore in FY24 to Rs 11,158.69 crore in FY25, marking a 4.7 per cent increase. Total expenses grew at a slower pace, up 3.0 per cent from Rs 9,306.06 crore to Rs 9,581.45 crore. Profit before tax inched up 2.7 per cent, moving from Rs 1,567.02 crore to Rs 1,610.00 crore. However, the standout figure was net profit, which jumped sharply by 53.0 per cent, climbing from Rs 1,042.03 crore in FY24 to Rs 1,594.73 crore in FY25.

Despite the rising costs of doing business across the globe, BCCL kept a tight grip on the purse strings. Total expenses rose by just 3.0 per cent to Rs 9,581.45 crore. By keeping costs lower than the rate of income growth, the company ensured that the final figure, a net profit of Rs 1,594.73 crore, was nothing short of a front-page sensation.

In a world of shifting digital tides, it seems the BCCL ship is not just steady, but sailing into significantly wealthier waters.