Senior Reporter
peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt
Cricket has paved the way for Carib beer to enter the India market.
CEO of the ANSA McAL Group Anthony N Sabga III said the sport was key to the development of partnership between ANSA McAL and Globus Spirits Ltd which was announced last month.
“For a while now, we have recognised that our beverage brands and particularly Carib via cricket is something which is very much known. It is a brand that has quite a bit of recall and awareness in the Indian market. We have been searching for opportunities of how to secure a supply chain into that market, into India,” said Sabga at the group’s stockbrokers’ meeting yesterday at the Tatil Building in St Clair, Port-of-Spain.
He said the company did its investigation into options to enter the market and eventually found a partner suitable to bring the brand to the South Asian country.
“We were able to secure a partnership with a fairly significant producer of alcohol and other products in the Indian market. This partner is Globus,” said Sabga.
“We’ve entered into a joint venture agreement which would see us establish a joint venture. That joint venture will contract brewing, production and distribution in India. It’s something we’re very excited about. It is a very large market.”
ANSA McAL announced the partnership with Globus on April 8.
The group’s CEO said that similar distribution deals had found success in Canada and Greece and as such he was confident the brand would do well in the Indian market.
“It’s a market that we see that presents a real opportunity for us to live into the purpose that Carib, brand Carib, which is to unleash Caribbean fun into the world. So this is a real opportunity to showcase our products and also our culture in a market that is very much open. They’re very much attracted to the Caribbean lifestyle.”
Cricket is the most popular sport in India, and despite the decline of the West Indies cricket team in the past few decades, West Indian cricketers remain popular in India due to their exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
During the meeting, the group’s financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2024 were presented.
Group chief financial officer Nicholas Jackman said the group was on an upward trajectory with revenue up by $55 million or three per cent to $1.649 billion. Profit before tax of $173 million, represented a increase of $9 million or eight per cent compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Jackman said these results showed the group was on target to surpass its performance last year.
“We want to flag that last year our revenue hit that $7 billion watershed moment for the group and to be beating it this year says we’re going in the right direction,” said Jackman.