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USA, Chicago: Miller Brewing Co., the U.S. unit of SABMiller Plc, plans to keep its focus on building the Miller Lite brand to win share from rival Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., Reuters cited Miller's executive vice president of marketing on March 14. Miller piggybacked on the now-fading low-carbohydrate trend to tout healthy attributes about Miller Lite that have been part of the beer since it was first brewed in the 1970s. But within six months, the company switched its strategy to talk about the taste of the product.

"We got consumers to reconsider and come to Miller Lite for carbs, and we are keeping them as they recognize the taste, and we talk about the taste," Bob Mikulay, Miller's executive vice president of marketing, said at the Reuters Food Summit.

Anheuser-Busch, which accounts for about half of all beer sold in the United States, responded to the fad by developing new products such as Michelob Ultra and Budweiser Select.

Miller has conducted more than 1 million taste tests at bars and restaurants in the past year, and Mikulay said the results show that consumers prefer Miller Lite to Bud Light, which is the top-selling beer in the United States.

Despite the retreat of the low-carb trend, all signs point to sustainable growth in the light beer segment. "The trends in the beer industry in the U.S. for the past two-and-half decades ... have been a movement toward light beers," Mikulay said at the summit, held at Reuters offices in Chicago. "It is only in recent years (that there) has been any discussion about carbs. It is lighter taste and less calories."

Those trends hold up not just in brands such as Miller Lite, but in the light category of economy brands such as Milwaukee's Best and Miller High Life, he added.

Miller began to compete directly with Anheuser-Busch in the summer of 2003 as part of its strategy after being acquired by SABMiller, which has headquarters in South Africa and England.

As the No. 2 brewer in the United States, Miller decided to stop trying to mimic the actions of Anheuser-Busch and focus on its own products. The company also makes direct comparisons to Anheuser-Busch in its advertising.

Some Miller commercials have been pulled from the airwaves for being too disparaging of Bud Light. Networks also have rejected Anheuser-Busch commercials that spoof Miller ad campaigns. "Consumers recognize, at least, that something is going on between the major players," Mikulay said.

Miller Lite, which accounts for more than 50 percent of Miller's profit and is the company's best-selling product, has reported sales growth in U.S. grocery stores for 82 consecutive weeks. Through the strength of Miller Lite, the company's U.S. market share rose to 18 percent in the past year, the first time the brewer's market share has grown organically since the late 1980s, Mikulay said.

SABMiller, the world's No. 3 brewer after Belgium's InBev and Anheuser-Busch, also is seeing increased competition from Molson Coors Brewing Co., formed last month by the merger of Montreal's Molson and Colorado-based Adolph Coors.


16 March, 2005