LB Brewers Eyes Rs 500 Crore Sales in Next 5 years, IPO Plans on Cards

New Delhi, June 14: Goa-based Latambarcem Brewers (LB Brewers), which owns craft beer MakaDi and functional beverage drink ‘Borecha’, plans to cross the Rs 500 crore revenue mark in the next 4-5 years and also has listing plans in the mid-term to fund its expansion plans, said a company official.

The company, which started its journey from a home-brewing experiment at a US apartment, has evolved into a fast-growing beverage business in India, and has plans to cross Rs 60 crore this fiscal from nearly Rs 24 crore in the previous year, driven by rapid expansion across Indian states and overseas markets, said its Chief Growth Officer Sarika Varshnei.

LB Brewers has a pan-India presence of Borecha, while its beer brand ‘MakaDi’, which has presence in 10 states, is expected to become profitable this fiscal.

“In the next five years, we expect to cross the Rs 500-crore revenue mark, and potentially exceed it. I am probably being conservative in that estimate. I am not a finance person; my focus has always been on sales, marketing and growing volumes. Looking at the trajectory of our brands, I am confident that crossing Rs 500 crore in revenue is a realistic target for us,” Varshnei told PTI.

As part of its expansion of portfolio, LB Brewers has also diversified into newer beverage categories, as it has entered into CoQ10-infused functional water product, with the brand name ‘Life6’, which, according to Varshnei, recently received recognition at an international beverage event also.

CoQ10-infused water is a functional beverage designed to deliver Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)— a vital antioxidant and cellular energy booster—in a water-soluble format.

Unlike several peers that rely heavily on contract manufacturing, LB Brewers has adopted an asset-heavy model, investing in its own production facilities and equipment.

“We believe quality comes from controlling the entire process. We manufacture everything in-house and don’t outsource production because our recipes and processes are proprietary,” she said.

LB Brewers has steadily expanded capacity from an initial 5,000 cases (12 bottles of 650 ml each) per month to around 40,000 cases for Maka and 36,000 cases for Borecha. The company has put fresh investments in canning lines and automation earlier this year.

Over LB Brewers expansion, Varshnei said like other new players it also faced distribution issues and regulatory complexities in big markets such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chandigarh, leading to losses.

The company subsequently adopted an asset-light market expansion strategy, partnering with local distributors who manage state-level approvals, logistics and distribution.

The approach has helped the company enter around ten states in the past year, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

Beyond India, the company has also started expanding internationally.

Maka is already available in six countries – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Phillipines and, Australia & UK and with plans to enter EU soon. While Borecha is targeting Europe following participation in an international beverage summit in London earlier this year.

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