For India’s beer brand Bira 91, its name turned out to mean everything, as a small change led to the company’s downfall.
Investor D. Muthukrishnan explained in a social media post how a minor name change triggered Bira 91’s collapse and resulted in the founder being forced to step down.
A Minor Name Change Pushes Bira 91 Toward Collapse
He described Bira 91 as one of the successful startups of the past decade, calling it a popular craft beer brand that had been growing rapidly before a “procedural goof-up” caused the company to crumble.
According to him, the company’s troubles began in late 2023 when B9 Beverages Private Limited, which owned Bira 91, started preparing for its long-awaited IPO.
To meet stock market listing requirements, the management decided to remove the word “Private” from the company’s name, changing it to B9 Beverages Limited.
The name change was officially registered with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in January 2024, but the company’s packaging, labels, and licenses still displayed the old name because existing stock was still being distributed.
Muthukrishnan explained that after the change, “All hell then broke loose,” as multiple states immediately banned the sale of Bira 91, treating the new name as a separate entity.
The states demanded new legal approvals, label permissions, product registrations, and fresh licenses for every variant, creating widespread disruption.
The ban led to a complete halt in distribution, leaving unsold inventory worth crores in company warehouses.
Bira 91 Faces 25% Drop in Sales Within Three Months of 2024
Between July and September 2024, Bira’s sales volumes dropped by about 25% compared to the previous year.
The company’s revenue for FY2024 fell to around ₹638 crore, down from ₹824 crore in FY2023, while it posted a massive net loss of ₹748 crore — one of its worst financial years ever.
Although Bira eventually regained approvals in most states and restarted production in early 2025, its brand momentum was lost, and the IPO plan was indefinitely postponed.
Muthukrishnan blamed India’s bureaucratic red tape for the collapse, calling it a key reason for the brand’s downfall.
He cited former Diageo India CEO Hina Nagarajan, who chose to retain the name United Spirits instead of changing it to Diageo India Limited to avoid similar business disruptions.
He concluded by saying that while what happened to Bira was “extremely unfair,” one must accept India’s reality — strict compliance, documentation, and expert advice are crucial because “what you assume need not work in reality and may even go against you.”
