"Today, the beer scene in India has changed a lot," marketing vice-president KG Nayak said, "and we are happy to have a strong presence in the development of that scene, with a national share of almost 10 per cent."

The brewery is currently churning out five million cases of its product annually through its manufacturing facilities in Karnataka and Maharashtra, "and we are planning for a third project in Andhra Pradesh shortly," Nayak announced. "Our stress is on quality," he went on to point out,noting that whenever foreigners visit the brewery, "it is their observation from time to time that our beer is something different from what is normally available in the country. That has given us the impetus to look at the foreign market."

Based on detailed marketing research, the company chose to use the Palisades brand name in this country because "it fits the character of California... and it brings out the significance of the premium quality of this beer," Nayak maintained.

Palisades has been available in the market for two months and is now available in 80 per cent of Indian restaurants. "We are confident that the marketing of the product will take off and soon reach all the corners of the United States," Nayak asserted. Beer connoisseurs will be pleasantly surprised by the beer's smooth taste. Because it is not as tart as some American beers, nor as filling, Palisades nicely complements an Indian meal and leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

For the past 15 years the beer has been marketed in Britainunder the Cobra label and six years ago it emerged the clear favourite over five of the most popular European brands, beating out even Amstel and Kronenburg, in a blind taste testing conducted by the Netherlands consultancy firm, Sklar.

"None of those other beers have changed in any way since, so that (testing) is as good as if it were done yesterday," Alan Fernandez, chief executive officer (CEO) for the national marketing of Palisades beer, told the California newspaper India-West. Because Cobra has emerged as the number one selling beer in Britain, "we believe we won't have a problem with the competition over here," Fernandez added.

While distribution has so far been confined to the Indian niche market, with a strong emphasis on marketing the beer to Southland's 106 Indian restaurants, Fernandez announced that he had recently secured a contract with a national distributor. "So within a month, Palisades will be in every niche market, specialty stores and hopefully, in continental US restaurants aswell," he said.

Under the Cobra brand name, the beer captured nearly 50 per cent of the British market and bottle for bottle, is selling as well as its leading competitor, Kingfisher. The beer is highly popular in major Australian cities too, but the American market, given the growing Indian presence, looks even more attractive. "We started (marketing) over here with reluctance," Palani said, "but...we are very happy with the reception we've got so far."