Record-Setting Beer Sales Help Bengaluru Beat the Heat: Report

Beer sales in Karnataka are apparently hitting all-time highs despite extreme competition and almost record-breaking temperatures. Notably, the whole southern state’s consumption of this beverage is dominated by Bengaluru, the state capital and home to the Silicon Valley of India.

A senior excise department official told TOI that the spike in sales was due to Karnataka’s rising temperatures. In only the last 15 days, the state has sold an astounding 23.5 lakh carton boxes of beer.

This comes after the Indian Meteorological Department predicted during the first week of this month that there would be more heat wave days this summer in various parts of central and northern plains as well as southern India.

According to the TOI report, Karnataka has already surpassed 61% of the total sales reported for the whole month of April 2023, based on data received from the excise department.

According to a representative of the excise department, sales of beer boxes in April of last year were 38.6 lakh, while sales in the first two weeks of this year have been 23.5 lakh boxes.

But the study also said that a deeper look at the data shows that beer sales have been soaring since the beginning of 2024.

Sales exceeded the previous year’s records in both February and March. Sales this summer were 30% more than in prior years, according to the excise department.

Excise officials confirmed that they had enough inventory to meet the rising demand.

The Lok Sabha Election’s Effect?

According to a different authority cited in the study, many people, both in urban and rural regions, choose beer as their beverage of choice in the summer. Beer consumption increases with rising temperatures.

The simultaneous Lok Sabha elections, the official said, have increased sales even more. According to reports, consumers like their beer cold because they think it helps beat the intense heat.

IMD projection

According to the meteorological service, the nation is likely to endure intense heat from April to June, with the western and central peninsulas predicted to be worst affected.

The states most likely to be affected by heat waves include Gujarat, central Maharashtra, north Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, north Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh. In April, most of the nation is predicted to have above-average maximum temperatures, with central India having the highest chance.