How Jain built India’s craft beer revolution

Bira’s boom, bust, and the cost of overreach

The name change that brewed Bira’s troubles

Ignored red flags from auditors and investors

Bira losses triple as net worth turns negative

Bira staff revolt, demand Jain’s ouster

Not just staff, others are seething too

Investors move to ring-fence healthy units

 Good news for Beer cafe

Ankur Jain's  denial mode. 

 On the investor's takeover of the beer cafe.

Is this end game for Bira?

Conclusion

Credits

Once hailed as India’s coolest craft beer brand, Bira 91 is now facing a sobering reality, mounting losses, unpaid dues, investor mutiny and a probable drag down to bankruptcy court. What went wrong with the company that promised to make beer fun, youthful, and proudly Indian? In this episode host Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET’s Ratna Bhushan and Manu Toms also joined by Poonam Chandel, Managing Director of NeuWorld Spirits to trace Bira’s journey from startup stardom to financial freefall. Together, they unpack founder and CEO Ankur Jain’s bold vision, the early buzz that fooled investors, and the missteps: overexpansion, regulatory blunders, and reckless spending that led to its downfall.

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: Twitter and Linkedin

You can follow Ratna Bhushan on her Linkedin, Twitter profiles and read her Newspaper Articles.


You can follow Manu Toms on his Linkedin, Twitter profiles and read his Newspaper Articles. 

Listen to Corner Office Conversation our new show:: Corner Office Conversation with Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe, Corner Office Conversation with The New Leaders of Indian Pharma and much more.

Check out other interesting episodes from the host like: Why Is India Still Buying Russian Oil?, How AI is Rewriting Cinema Part 2, Trump vs Harvard: India Impact, Of Dragons and Elephants: Modi–Xi in Focus and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

 

Once hailed as India&rsquo;s coolest craft beer brand, Bira 91 is now facing a sobering reality, mounting losses, unpaid dues, investor mutiny and a probable drag down to bankruptcy court. What went wrong with the company that promised to make beer fun, youthful, and proudly Indian? In this episode host Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET&rsquo;s Ratna Bhushan and Manu Toms also joined by Poonam Chandel, Managing Director of NeuWorld Spirits to trace Bira&rsquo;s journey from startup stardom to financial freefall. Together, they unpack founder and CEO Ankur Jain&rsquo;s bold vision, the early buzz that fooled investors, and the missteps: overexpansion, regulatory blunders, and reckless spending that led to its downfall. You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: <a href="https://twitter.com/AnirbanET">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirban-chowdhury-b5067219/">Linkedin </a>You can follow Ratna Bhushan on her <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ratna-bhushan/">Linkedin</a>, <a href="https://x.com/ratnabhushanET">Twitter</a> profiles and read her <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/etreporter/author-ratna-bhushan-11974.cms?from=mdr">Newspaper Articles.</a>
 You can follow Manu Toms on his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/manu-p-toms-937b7619/">Linkedin</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/manutoms">Twitter</a> profiles and read his <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/etreporter/author-manu-p-toms-479251634.cms?from=mdr">Newspaper Articles</a>. Listen to Corner Office Conversation our new show:: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/corner-office-conversation/id1827451035?i=1000718205446">Corner Office Conversation with Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/corner-office-conversation/id1827451035?i=1000720534576">Corner Office Conversation with The New Leaders of Indian Pharma</a> and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/corner-office-conversation/id1827451035">much more</a>.
Check out other interesting episodes from the host like: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000725625786">Why Is India Still Buying Russian Oil?</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000723806634"> How AI is Rewriting Cinema Part 2</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000710947447">Trump vs Harvard: India Impact</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000724471517">Of Dragons and Elephants: Modi&ndash;Xi in Focus</a> and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">much more</a>.
Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on <a href="https://www.etplay.com/etplay">ET Play</a>, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr">The Economic Times Online</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea"> Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief">Amazon Music</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theetpodcasts">Youtube</a>.
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To make sense of the week’s hottest stories in business, economy, politics and markets, journalists from the Economic Times chat with reporters and industry leaders in this thrice-weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) podcast.

The Morning Brief

Fizz, Froth and Fail: Inside Bira 91’s Meltdown