It is a particularly long and intense heatwave in Bengaluru that has even started a consumer beer consumption shockwave. Sales of the beer have jumped nearly 50 per cent.
In one form, Bengaluru is just getting in on the action with extreme heat, as an increase in the need for lighter and refreshing alcoholic drinks is being made on the streets, as well as a lack of supply most of the time. Retail and bar owners in places like Bengaluru have told local media that demand for chilled beer has already skyrocketed this year, in recent weeks.
They are seen as more hydrating and heat-friendly to the climate if they appear hot and, at least generally speaking, well above average throughout the day. “You are seeing customers who would normally go for whisky or rum, but this year, they’re asking for beer, especially in the evening,” the liquor store owner behind the beer said.
“Since then, demand in some locations has doubled, and stock management is now a big concern.” Those in the industry attributed the change to something occurring in a different part of the year, not only to something that will cause the heatwaves, but that would be aligned with lifestyle.
Younger consumers like low-alcohol products and may choose to drink socially (unbothered by spirits). But increased demand is being met by disruption in supply chains. Distributors are scrambling to catch up, and many retailers boast shelves without products.
A lot of popular brands are said to run out of stock within a few hours of filling up shelves. This has forced retailers to ration and offer less selection. Demand is skyrocketing; officials at Karnataka’s Excise Department say supply is now being stabilised. "We are watching closely and managing the manufacturers and distributors to make them available," the official says.
While certain areas of the city did run out of items, prices are growing sensitive to consumers' spending more dollars for existing inventory. Many bars and pubs, especially outdoor ones with outdoor seating, are drawing in people who want to have a serene location to cool off their hair in the scorching sun before heading out to a quieter outlet to take their breath.
The current picture has been associated with more than a few things, in a report from weather scientists, including urban heat island effects and other general weather phenomena. And when people were forced to send some of those warming temperatures skyward, they had to change their lifestyle and add more stress to city water and power systems.
That expansion of consumer demand has supported parts of the beverage business, but it has turned up the difficulty of scaling back supply in cases like these. They say if experts worked more on forecasting and inventory planning, it might help bring shortens for such disruptions in future.
The heatwave may affect Bengaluru’s residents, and, in other parts of the state, still induce them to consume cold beer as a luxury, an escape from heatwaves, as in the case of Bengaluru, which are on the upswing. But as supply chains slow, that could put even more pressure on the city, and other bottlenecks in cold pint-making streets later in the road still weigh on the pavement.
