New Delhi: United Breweries Ltd (UBL), India’s largest beer maker, has approved a comprehensive productivity and cost-effectiveness programme as it seeks to protect margins and sharpen competitiveness in a challenging operating environment marked by high taxes, regulatory complexity and rising input costs.
In a regulatory filing on Friday, the company said its board had cleared the transformation initiative, which focuses on operational excellence, tighter cost discipline and organisational reconfiguration across key functions.
As part of the programme, UBL will reorganise business functions, streamline roles in sales and supply chain operations, and set up more focused teams in areas such as corporate affairs, customer service and logistics. The company said several initiatives are already underway, reflecting a proactive approach to optimising resources and improving efficiency.
The brewer is also recalibrating its manufacturing footprint. Its network strategy includes the commissioning of a greenfield brewery in Uttar Pradesh, the closure of its Mangalore plant, and strategic partnerships in priority markets. Localising production of premium brands within states is expected to improve supply-chain resilience and responsiveness.
On the portfolio side, UBL has initiated a detailed review to prioritise high-value stock keeping units (SKUs) and rationalise underperforming products.
Cost optimisation measures include higher reuse of old bottles, lower logistics costs, increased domestic sourcing of raw materials and targeted reductions in fixed costs.
The company said these actions are expected to deliver sustained annualised savings of 3–6%, which will be reinvested to drive market growth, strengthen capabilities and support long-term value creation.
Despite near-term affordability pressures in the beer category, UBL reiterated its confidence in India as a structurally under-penetrated market with significant long-term growth potential.