Medusa Beverages, a homegrown alco-beverage company founded in 2018, is accelerating its expansion strategy, driven by sustained volume growth, premiumisation trends and a strategic entry into the draught beer segment in Delhi. The move is aimed at strengthening the company’s presence in the on-trade and HORECA (hotels, restaurants and cafes) channels, while enhancing brand visibility and tapping into higher-margin consumption avenues.

The Delhi-based company has already expanded its footprint across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, and now plans to enter two additional markets - Assam and Karnataka.

Founder and CEO Avneet Singh said the company is fast-tracking its transition into a pan-India brand. “This year, Medusa will become a pan-India company. We started as a regional brand in Delhi, but now we are present across North and Central India and Assam, and are expanding into the South,” he said.

Singh added that Medusa has secured licences in Karnataka and Jharkhand and has applied for approval in Kerala. “We have also tied up with breweries in Jharkhand, Karnataka and Assam to support regional production,” he said.

Focus on asset-light model

The company follows an asset-light manufacturing model, operating through sub-lessee licences instead of owning breweries. Through these partnerships, Medusa has expanded its brewing capacity from about 1.75 lakh hectolitres per annum (HLPA) to nearly 3.5 lakh HLPA.

“We are focusing more on creating quality beer rather than investing heavily in capex at this stage,” Singh said, noting that contract brewing allows faster market access compared with setting up greenfield facilities.

Medusa has already crossed sales of 1.1 million cases in the current financial year, with two months still remaining. The company had sold about 9.5 lakh cases last year and expects to close the current year at around 1.4–1.5 million cases.

Earlier this month, the company introduced its draught beer offering in Delhi to strengthen its foothold in the on-trade and HORECA channels, with taps already operational at 25 restaurants and plans to scale this to 100 outlets during the year.

Strong bet on premiumisation

Premiumisation remains a key pillar of Medusa’s growth strategy, Singh said, as consumers increasingly shift from mass-market beers to higher-quality offerings. The company’s premium portfolio, including Medusa Air and its ‘House of the Dragon’ collaboration, has helped it capitalise on this shift. “We are offering the experience of craft beer taste within a commercial beer format,” he said.

Premium products currently contribute around 10–11% of Medusa’s overall revenue, though the share is significantly higher in certain markets. In Delhi, premium offerings account for nearly 18–20% of revenue, while in Haryana they contribute close to 28–30%. Gross margins in the premium segment stand at around 40–41%, compared with approximately 28% in the mass segment.

The company’s growth momentum has translated into a strong revenue uptick. Medusa reported net revenue of ₹66 crore last year, with gross revenue of about ₹155 crore. For the current year, the company expects net sales to approach ₹90 crore and gross revenue to near ₹200 crore.

Cans supply crunch add to near-term challenges

Singh noted that the performance comes despite a contraction in the overall beer industry due to factors such as Operation Sindhu, excessive rainfall and adverse climatic conditions. “Despite these challenges, we managed to grow by around 40%,” he said.

The company is also navigating near-term operational challenges, particularly a shortage of aluminium cans in India driven by rising demand from soft drink, energy drink and beer manufacturers. Singh said Medusa has begun importing cans from Thailand and China to manage supply, although the move is expected to temporarily pressure margins due to higher costs and currency fluctuations.

On the regulatory front, Singh highlighted that high excise duties continue to weigh on beer consumption in India. “Beer is still treated as a luxury drink in India. This is less about profitability and more about salability,” he said, adding that policy support for low-alcohol beverages such as beer could significantly expand the industry’s growth potential.