Iran might not seem a natural choice of as a market to sell beer, but one Russian company thinks differently. Russian brewer Baltika is considering selling non-alcoholic beer to the nation, a decision that could either help the firm establish a foothold in an emerging market or be greeted by utter indifference from the Islamic population.
However, the company says that it is confident of capturing 20 per cent of what it sees as a potentially lucrative market.
Baltika has reasons for such confidence. The Russian brewer has already been given a licence by the Iranian government to sell non-alcoholic beer.
The company says that the product sold in Iran will be similar in terms of design, taste and character as the beer sold on the Russian market. The big difference, of course, is that is non-alcoholic.
Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol. Iran already has several local non-alcoholic beers in the market, but Baltika`s will be the first foreign entry.