United Breweries Ltd (UB) & SABMiller Plc's Indian arm are patenting their bottles, which they say would help them get a handle on rising bottling costs. Once patented, only they (with 80% of the Indian beer market) would be able to buy back their respective bottles. "This will help us have a control on the availability & pricing of second-hand bottles." said S Ramamurthy, Deputy President, UB. UB uses second-hand bottles for 75% of its bottling needs, while bottling accounts for 40% of its total costs, said Ramamurthy. However, according to market experts, the second-hand bottle industry is unorganized & dominated by middlemen, who hoard used bottles, causing the prices of second-hand bottles to rise 30% in the last 2y. S Kumar, Director, Corp. Affairs & Comms at SABMiller, said the decision to patent the bottles was also due to branding reasons & the need to increase manufacturing efficiency. Both firms plan to introduce patented bottles across India in a gradual manner to prevent flooding the market. Prices of second-hand bottles range between INR 3.50 and INR 5, depending on the time of the year and the state, compared to the price of new bottles at INR 8.50.
