Content deleted Content added
Headhitter (talk | contribs) |
GreenC bot (talk | contribs) Rescued 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#timesonline.co.uk |
||
(28 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|UK beer brand}}
{{NPOV language|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox company
Line 8 ⟶ 9:
| founder = [[Karan Bilimoria]]
| location_city = [[Burton upon Trent]], Staffordshire
| area_served = {{ubl|UK
| key_people = {{ubl|Mark Hunter, global CEO of [[Molson Coors]]
| products = {{ubl|Cobra Premium Beer
| location_country = England
| homepage = [http://www.cobrabeer.com www.cobrabeer.com]
}}
'''Cobra Beer''' is a [[beer]] [[brand]] manufactured in the [[United Kingdom
In June 2011, [[Molson Coors]] bought a controlling interest in Cobra.<ref name=toi/>
As of 2014, Cobra Beer is primarily produced in [[Burton upon Trent]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Burton becomes the new home of Cobra beer
==History==
[[File:Lord Karan Bilimoria at Horasis Global India Business Meeting 2012 crop.jpg|thumbnail|left|Lord Bilimoria – founder and chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership]]
Cobra Beer was founded in 1989 by [[Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria|Karan Bilimoria]],<ref name=drinkshop/> then aged 27 and £20,000 in debt.<ref name=drinkshop/> Bilimoria said that "the (British) lager was too fizzy, too harsh and too bloating. It meant that I couldn't eat or drink as much as I would like. At the same time, I found real ale to be great in a pub, but too bitter and heavy with food. So I came up with the idea of creating a beer with the refreshment of a lager, but with the smoothness of an ale."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-28439834|title=How Cobra Beer regained its sparkle|date=5 August 2014|access-date=14 December 2021|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
Although originally intended to be named 'Panther', the name was changed to 'Cobra' when a focus group found the latter more appealing. The first shipment of Cobra was imported to the UK from the [[Bangalore]]-based Mysore Brewery in 1990, at the start of the [[early 1990s recession]],<ref name=drinkshop/> however, large consumer demand and increased import costs prompted Bilimoria to move production to the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bilimoria|first1=Karan|title=Bottled for Business: The Less Gassy Guide to Entrepreneurship.|date=2007|publisher=Wiley|location=Chichester|isbn=978-1-84112-726-2|pages=46–49|edition=1st}}</ref>
Line 34 ⟶ 35:
It is this strategy of growing sales, instead of concentrating on the "bottom line" which may have caused the company's financial problems. On Friday 29 May 2009 the company went into [[Administration (law)|administration]], owing an estimated £75 million to suppliers. On the same day, the business was rescued through the formation of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited, a joint-venture between Molson Coors and Karan Bilimoria, with Molson Coors owning 50.1% of the shares and Bilimoria appointed as Chairman.<ref>
{{cite news| url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article6395535.ece | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605103647/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article6395535.ece | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 5, 2009 | work=The Times | location=London | title=Cobra beer saved from administration at last gasp | first=Matthew | last=Goodman | date=2009-05-31 | access-date=2010-04-30}}</ref>
In June 2011, it was reported that [[Molson Coors]] had also purchased a 51% stake in Cobra India, renamed as ''Molson Coors Cobra India''. The remaining 49% of the venture is controlled by Bilimoria.<ref name=toi>{{cite web|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-24/india-business/29698944_1_cobra-beer-katyal-family-stake|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623085659/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-24/india-business/29698944_1_cobra-beer-katyal-family-stake|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 June 2013|title=Molson Coors buys 51% stake in Cobra|date=24 June 2011|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=14 November 2011}}</ref>
As of 2014, Cobra Beer has continued to experience increased sales – albeit at a slower
As of November 2014, Cobra had a market share of over 45% of all licensed Indian restaurants within the United Kingdom.<ref name="BBC News"/>
Line 45 ⟶ 46:
The Cobra Beer range currently consists of three beers: {{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
*''Cobra Premium (4.5%)'', an extra-smooth premium beer
*''Cobra Zero (0.0%)'', a non-alcoholic version of Cobra Premium, sold since 2005.
*''King Cobra (
Cobra Beers have won a collective total of 101 gold medals at the international [[Monde Selection]] awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cobrabeer.com/en/awards|title=Awards | Cobra Beer UK|website=Cobrabeer.com|access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref>
|