With the fast-growing trend of partying and hanging out at pubs and cafes, the choice of beverage, especially for people who don't drink alcohol, is very limited. There are so many who avoid consumption of alcohol due to religious and cultural beliefs, which builds up significant gap between soft drink consumers and beer drinkers. CoolBerg tapping this opportunity, operates in the premium soft beverages category with the aim to establish itself as the first-choice beverage for all non-alcoholic customers.

Conception of CoolBerg

Pankaj Aswani, a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a Banker by profession, launched India’s first crafted zero alcohol beer, CoolBerg in 2016. He took the entrepreneurial plunge after seeing the potential for non-alcoholic beverages in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Coolberg conceptualised because Pankaj was a teetotaller and used to face the problem of beverage options when socialising with friends. He came across this concept of non-alcoholic beer during one of his overseas trips and that’s how the business idea came to his mind.

“There was a demand and it was met by imported stuff. We saw an opportunity in non-alcoholic beer segment and entered this business. We are increasing production every month,” Mr. Aswain said.

CoolBerg - A zero alcohol beer brand

Coolberg, a Mumbai based Start-Up, works with a unique idea of having a non-alcoholic beer. Coolberg makes the parties and gatherings easier for people who feel odd during such occasions with a wide range of flavors:

● Cranberry ● Peach ● Malt ● Strawberry ● Mint ● Ginger ● Assorted

Coolberg has raised funds around $ 3.5 milion through 2 funding rounds. Their latest funding was raised in November, 2019 from Series-A round, lead investor being RB Investments out of 4 investors.

USP of CoolBerg

In market there are various alcoholic brands who are also trading in their own non-alcoholic counterparts. However, what makes Coolberg more appetising due to its great texture and availability of multiple choices. The malt beer is exactly like beer, where one can find same taste, aroma and even the feel of the beer, but without alcohol.

Being low in caffeine it is an astounding product for anyone to enjoy without any worries that a reason company calls it a "Drink for All".

Conclusion :

We can sense the vision of the Start-Up with its Co-founder, Pankaj Aswani’s statement “Basically, anywhere you find a Cola, we want you to be able to find a CoolBerg as well."

The concept and its workings are new to India and efforts are being made in building non-alcoholic beer - a category. This segment appeals for an expert consumer understanding of behaviour, needs and tastes so that it can cater group of consumer who keep themselves away from alcohol and get associated with lifestyle product in drinks.

Yashika Keswani, Co-founder and COO, said, “The Indian beverage market is witnessing an interesting transformation with an increased demand for new flavors. All our variants are unique, refreshing and new to market. Our R&D team is strong and keeps a close eye on consumer needs.”