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B9 Beverages, the parent company of Bira91 raised the fresh capital as part of its Pre-Series D round

Earlier this year, Bira91 bagged $30 Mn from Japan’s Kirin Holdings for 10% stake

Bira91 competes against the likes of Kingfisher, Carlsberg, Heineken, and others

Craft beer company Bira91 has raised close to $20 Mn in its Pre-Series D round. B9 Beverages, the parent company of Bira91, is expecting to close a much larger Series D round, founder Ankur Jain told Inc42.  As per regulatory filings accessed by Inc42, Bira91 has already received $4.8 Mn from more than two dozen investors. Valiant Mauritius Partners FDI Limited has invested INR 6.2 Cr for 1,24,908 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS). Green Rush Holding, SKS Capital & Research, Pyramid City Projects and others have also participated in the round. 

Founded in 2015, Bira91 currently makes eight beer varieties. The brand has a presence across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, and Chandigarh. The company operates four breweries in India and has offices in nine cities including New York City. Bira91 has over 600 employees and also enjoys the support of Sequoia Capital and Belgium’s Sofina Capital.  Earlier, this year, Bira91 raised $30 Mn from Japanese beverages company Kirin Holdings. This was Kirin’s first investment in India. The deal resulted in Kirin getting a 10% stake in B9 Beverages. Sequoia holds 45% of the startup, founder Jain has a 30% stake. 

Last year, in November, as per Inc42 exclusive report, Bira bagged INR 11.5 Cr in a Series C round from a slew of investors. Amid the first wave of pandemic, it raised $20 Mn in its Pre-Series C round from Sequoia and Sofina. 

Bira91 competes against the new age liquor manufacturers such as Beer Cafe, White Owl Brewery, Salud, and others. These companies are competing against heavyweights in the brewery segment such as Kingfisher, Carlsberg, Heineken, and others. Though the alcohol consumption and sales fell in the initial days of the lockdown in 2020, the liquor market is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Several states opened up online delivery of alcohol given that retail liquor sales involved huge crowds and the possibility of Covid transmission. 

According to a report by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and PLR Chamber, India is one of the world’s fastest growing markets for alcoholic beverages with an estimated market size of $52.5 Bn in 2020. India’s liquor market is anticipated to grow at 6.8% CAGR between 2020 and 2023.