The beer industry in Maharashtra is broadly divided into three pricing-led segments: Economy, Mainstream, and Premium. Maharashtra operates under an open-trade distribution policy, which is relatively favorable for business, allowing smoother supply-chain movement and easier market penetration. However, despite this liberal distribution environment, beer prices remain comparatively high due to the state’s excise structure, making beer costlier than IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor). This pricing imbalance continues to restrict overall category growth.

Recent policy changes have introduced some positive momentum. The increase in duty on IMFL from 300% to 450% has improved beer’s relative price competitiveness: particularly in the Economy segment. As a result, the Economy beer segment has grown faster than the overall industry.

Consumer behavior is also shifting. Younger consumers increasingly prefer beer as a casual, social, hangout drink, contributing to higher acceptance and experimentation. This evolving preference is also pushing companies to invest in the Non-Alcoholic Beer (NAB) category to meet growing demand for low- and no-alcohol alternatives.

Compared to core FMCG categories, beer continues to face several structural challenges:

• Restricted retail universe

• Taboo perception in society

• High level of statutory intervention

• Operational hurdles for ease of business

In contrast, core FMCG benefits from free-market operations, wide availability, permitted advertising, and daily consumption relevance factors that give FMCG significant growth advantage.