Picking a first export market for Indian craft beer

Pick one market, not five

Each new market needs its own importer, label changes, paperwork and visits. A small brewery can do this properly for one market at a time. Spreading the effort across five usually means five small, neglected markets.

Start with a shortlist of three to five countries. Score each one on the factors below. Pick the top one and give it at least a year before adding a second.

Who will buy it

Indian craft beer has a natural first audience abroad: people who know India, Indian food and Indian brands. Cities with large Indian communities and many Indian restaurants give you a ready first channel. Restaurants that serve Indian food and want an Indian beer on the menu are easier to approach than bars full of local craft taps.

That only gets you started. Ask whether local craft drinkers will buy the beer too. A beer that stands out on flavour, not just origin, has a longer life in the market. Our guide to craft beer market trends in India shows where Indian brands are already strong at home.

How long the beer is on the water

Transit time affects freshness and cost. Markets in the Gulf and Southeast Asia are often days to a couple of weeks away by sea. Europe, North America and Australia usually take several weeks once port time is included. Ask freight forwarders for real door to door times, not just the sailing time.

Match the market to the beer. A pasteurised lager can handle a long voyage better than a hazy IPA. If your best beer is fresh and hoppy, a nearer market or a reefer budget is part of the plan.

Rules, duty and paperwork

Compare the regulatory load. Some markets require label pre-approval, others do not. Some charge high duties on alcohol, which push your shelf price up. Some restrict alcohol sales or imports heavily. A market with moderate duty and simple labelling rules is easier for a first export, even if it is smaller.

Check whether India has a trade agreement with the market that lowers duty on beer. A certificate of origin can then save the importer money, which makes your price more competitive.

A simple scoring sheet

Score each shortlisted market from 1 to 5 on:

• Likely demand for Indian craft beer.
• Transit time and cold chain options.
• Duty and taxes, with 5 meaning low.
• Labelling and registration effort, with 5 meaning simple.
• Availability of craft beer importers.
• Ease of travel for you to visit and support the brand.

Add up the scores. The total will not make the decision for you, but it stops one exciting factor, such as a big city name, from hiding several bad ones.

Test before you commit

Before a full container, look for a smaller test. Share a container with another Indian food or drinks exporter, or send a pallet with an importer that consolidates small shipments. Use the first shipment to learn transit time, how the beer arrives and how quickly it sells. See our guide to finding an importer for Indian craft beer abroad.

Visit the market when the beer arrives. Taste it from the importer's warehouse and from a shop shelf. If it tastes tired, fix the cold chain before you send more.

Export orders arrive in large lumps. A full container can be several thousand cases, brewed and packed in a few weeks. Check your tank space, packaging capacity and cash flow can handle that without starving your home market. Weighing export against domestic growth is a business planning question. It deserves the same rigour as the decision to expand.

Keep the home market strong

Export should add to a healthy home business, not replace one. A brewery with steady domestic sales, a clear brand at home and consistent quality is easier for an importer to sell. Buyers abroad will often ask where the beer is sold in India and how long the brand has been running. A strong answer helps.

Set a limit on the share of capacity you will give to export in the first year, for example a fifth. Review it after twelve months against the margins you actually earned. If export pays and the home market has not suffered, raise the limit. If it has squeezed your best domestic customers, hold back.

Your first step

Write down three to five candidate countries. For each one, find the price of an imported craft beer in a shop there and ask a freight forwarder for the door to door transit time from your nearest port. Fill in the scoring sheet with what you learn.

Common questions

Which country should an Indian craft brewery export to first?

There is no single answer. Score a shortlist on demand, transit time, duty, labelling effort, importer availability and ease of visiting, then start with the strongest.

Is the Indian diaspora enough of a market?

It is a useful first channel, especially through Indian restaurants, but lasting export sales usually need local craft drinkers too.

How big should a first export shipment be?

Start small if you can, with a pallet or a shared container, so you learn transit time and sell through before committing to a full container.