Beer Growth in India - 25% YOY

Yet another example of how India is growing in terms of consumer spending. Beer market in India is growing at 25% per year over the last few years. The figure is as per a TV series on BBC that I saw yesterday (can't find its link though). Having similar growth in North America is a dream; Wall Street is usually happy if you can maintain single-digit growth.

The series also talked about the new pub culture in India. Some folks at a hustling pub in Mumbai said: "..Beer is now the coolest thing to drink, ...I am drinking because everyone else does...".

Needless to say the pub culture in India is at rise, and so is the beer consumption. The international brands are entering to tap into this growing trend, aiming to grab a pie out of it. Indians are quite brand-savvy, we have to see if they are willing to shell out extra mullahs for the international brands.

The TV program made another note that Beer is about to get expensive as cost of Barley (a key ingredient for Beer) has surged in the recent past; in-line with price-rise in other food grains in India and world-wide. So far Indian economy has defied fear of recession in the US and elsewhere, we have to see how consumers behavior change with oil shocks and other economic uncertainties that lies ahead.

Airlines running lighter

New York Times ran a wonderful article To Save Fuel, Airlines Find No Speck Too Small about measures taken by airlines to deal with soaring oil prices. I am amazed to note how fast these large companies adapt to new business realities. They are not leaving any stone unturned, right from dusting off the plane-exterior to carrying less amount of water. The logic being dirt causing drag while airborne, and water weighing more than fuel. I should have known this from my engineering background :), but obviously didn't strike to me. Apparently, the little science tidbits that we least cared about are becoming significant today. Like, carrying a larger plastic bottle of soda in place of cans. Earlier all we cared about was convenience, now it's about cutting cost to survive.

Everything counts when you multiply these cost savings spread across hundreds of thousands of flying hours.

There is virtually no company large or small that doesn't depend on oil; albeit some are more dependent than the others. We have to see how other companies are dealing with the oil problem. Are the Government agencies going to change as well? Are we going to see utility personnel like postman or meter-readers riding a bike instead of a car/van. I am not trying to be pessimistic here, but it's prudent to change now and innovate new ways to do things.