Bira 91 to acquire The Beer Café

The Beer Cafe’s management team, including Founder & CEO Rahul Singh, will continue to lead the brand’s operations.

Bira 91, the premium beer company, has agreed to acquire India’s leading Alco-Beverage Chain, The Beer Café. With this move, Bira 91 will strengthen its play in pubs and taprooms and build India’s first large scale direct-to-consumer platform focused on Beer & Innovation. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary terms and conditions as provided under the transaction agreements.

According to the terms, Bira 91 will leverage its infrastructure, experience, and expansion capabilities to further refine The Beer Café’s strong operating model and better serve its loyal and passionate base of beer enthusiasts. The Beer Café’s management with Rahul Singh, CEO, and Founder at the helm, will continue to lead the brand’s operations and take the complete responsibility of the newly formed restaurant vertical.

The coming together of Bira 91 and The Beer Café is a perfect match as it brings together two brands with complementary cultures, consumers, and market opportunities. The Beer Café is India’s #1 Alco-Beverage Brand and is synonymous with beer, serving millions of consumers globally. The pub chain has a presence of 33 outlets in 15 cities across Tier 1/2/3 cities at key locations including Malls, High Street and Transit Hubs. Bira 91 will add to The Beer Café brand by improving the consumer offerings with its knack of delivering consumer delight and The Beer Café outlets will help Bira 91 penetrate deeper into the restaurant space, strengthen the beer fans universe, and create a novel beer culture in the country.

Speaking on the announcement, Rahul Singh, founder, and CEO of The Beer Café, said, “We are thrilled to have found a partner in Bira 91 to proffer the beer culture in India. The Beer Café has a strong consumer base that is loyal & passionate towards the brand. We have a strong operating model, and by leveraging on the strengths of Bira 91, we will be able to enhance the consumer experience and take the brand to newer heights. The neutrality of The Beer Café brand offering the most variety of beers remains intact.”

Commenting on the announcement, Ankur Jain, founder, and CEO, of Bira 91 said, “We are delighted to onboard The Beer Café and build India’s first large scale direct-to-consumer platform focused on Beer & Innovation. Both Bira 91 and The Beer Café were conceived with the same intent of evangelizing and elevating the beer experience in the country and with this acquisition, together we aim to catalyse the growth of beer culture in India. Having known Rahul for several years now and seeing his journey closely, I am extremely confident that he will continue to work towards taking the beer culture deeper in the country and scale our restaurants vertical to new heights. Through this partnership, consumers are surely in for an exciting ride of unique, experimental, and flavorful beers.”

The future of Bira 91’s restaurant vertical will involve a combination of strengthening The Beer Café’s offerings with its expertise while continuing to expand the Bira 91 Taproom experience to increase the base of Bira 91 loyalists.