Authored Article By Aathira V P
HYDERABAD, JANUARY 01, 2026: We know youngsters indulging in beer parties. Here are three good friends and enterprising youngsters who started their unique beer brands in the country.
And no wonder they are raising the bar, while brewing, they are crafting a success story through their inspirational journey.
From experimenting with flavours abroad to setting up breweries across India, Nagendra, Director and CEO of American Brewcraft, has been part of a quiet shift in the country’s brewing landscape.
With three breweries operating in Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the company’s journey began with three friends brought together by a shared interest in beer and exposure to diverse brewing styles in the United States.
Here, Mr Nagendra speaks about entrepreneurship, building a brewery business in India, and the evolving tastes of Indian consumers, as well as exploring and expanding breweries over time.
Seeds of entrepreneurship:
“I did my chemical engineering from Vizag and did my masters from the US in the same. And that’s where my first thought of entrepreneurship came when I saw the other side of work culture in the US. As students, we used to work part-time jobs in the university, cafeteria, gas station, etc. Firstly, the value creation and in the US, even through small businesses fascinated me. Also, the emphasis and respect for small-scale businesses, as well as the support system you get, is great. That made me realise even a common man could do something or the other there. After studying, I worked in computer science. I started my first business in 2010. It was our IT consultation firm. We, friends, did begin it. We are together throughout our ventures. Later on, together we did our first business in India, it was a restaurant in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Later, we started our breweries as we found this more fascinating and we took it up as a challenge. We support each other, and we enjoy each other’s company, while we remain bosom friends forever.”
What were the ideas behind the start-up, and where was the kick point? Was the startup targeted to the localised market or a global market? Can you add on to the idea of St. Patricks?
“The idea and the startup were out of the hobby and interest of our friends. In the US market, we get a large variety of beers, which we have explored. So, once while hanging out with my friends, the idea of “why not start a similar brewery in India?”. In India, that would give us a chance to give back to our motherland as well as personally give us a chance to come to India more often. We noticed quite a few times that there were not wide varieties of beers back then; the market had only light and strong beer back then. Even now, we can’t see a lot of varieties of beer.
At that time, we came to know about a brewery being shut down in India and so we thought of grabbing this opportunity and laid our foundation despite a lot of suggestions not to take up that brewery.
So, it was more about doing something local. But, as we are so sure about the quality and consistency, we decided to take it to the global market eventually. We considered setting up a manufacturing unit in the US but decided to export instead because of the high manufacturing and labour costs. We set up St. Patrick’s, a microbrewery in Denver. It wasn’t a commercial brewery; we set it up just for us to understand the US market, which differs from the Indian market in various aspects such as variety, availability in stores and consumer choices. So, it was a crucial gateway to understand the US market, which helped us understand what to implement and introduce in the Indian market. For now, we are focusing on the commercial breweries we have set up here in India and further expansion to large scale.”
Handling Hurdles, Competition, and Facing Monopolies in Indian Market:
“The typical ‘Indian middle-class’ mindset that we three were born into helped us a lot. “Make the best out of what little you already have” instead of feeling bad about what you don’t have. And this mentality is built over the years. We were patient, consistent and always stuck to beer, instead of jumping to other products. We never tried to compete with others in the marketplace; rather, we just focused on quality and bringing in more variety, despite ups and downs. About the advertising part, indeed, businesses like this can only have steady growth, because we cannot openly advertise like other products. So, social media is a grey area that we utilize, we work with influencers and release promotional advertisements there.”
What was the idea behind the mascot “Blockbuster” and how was it executed?
Sri: “Blockbuster was the launching of a new brand. We had a lot of ideas and discussions about this and eventually our mascot, Blockbuster, which is a bear, was finalised. The bear represents our brand identity. The chill vibe and personality of the bear were close to what we wanted to show our brand as.”
What makes your company stand out from the rest?
Sri: “It’s bringing in new varieties of beer to the Indian market that were never prominent here. Bringing the different types of beers that we saw and experienced in the U,S and to launch a lot of different flavours of fruits, low calorie gluten free etc. That’s not been done in India before. Also, that was where the initial USD for the company came from.
Considering the brand identity you have achieved, where do you set your next milestone?
Sri: “For us, it is to expand more organically than in a forced way with the raising capital. It is to expand into new markets when the chance comes and set up new breweries along the way, as required. But the goal would be to avail it all over India. It’s a challenging task in India as it is not one country, but rather a group of countries, because each state has different permits, rules of regulations. So, we have to keep it in mind and execute accordingly for each state.
As of now, we are there in eight to nine states. We will be adding one or two next year, as well as setting up other breweries elsewhere.”
How did you get into entrepreneurship? What is your educational background?
Sri: “I did my chemical engineering from Vizag and did my masters from the US in the same. And that’s where my first thought of entrepreneurship came when I saw the other side of work culture in the US. As students, we used to work part-time jobs in the university, cafeteria, gas station etc. Firstly, the value creation and in the US, even through small businesses fascinated me. Also, the emphasis and respect for small-scale businesses, as well as the support system you get, is great. That made me realise even a common man could do something or the other there. After my studies, I worked in the computer science domain. I started my first business in 2010. It was our IT consultation firm. We, friends, did begin it. We are together throughout our ventures. Later on together we did our first business in India, it was a restaurant in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Later, we started our breweries as we found this more fascinating and interesting, and we took it up as a challenge.”
Do you have a success mantra or work philosophy?
Sri: “I treat all my employees across my business like my family, which fosters a good work environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when everything was falling apart, we kept our employees together throughout the crisis, and they paid back by staying loyal, trustworthy and hardworking, which helps us grow together as a family.”
What will be your message to the inspiring entrepreneurs?
Sri: “To be an entrepreneur, there are two necessary things. Knowing how to sell and understanding finance. Also, understanding finance is necessary as it is very important to know the market. The profits and losses. Moreover, it’s never taught as part of our curriculum. So, getting to know the business mindset is very necessary.”
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