E-Malt.com News article: United Kingdom: Brahma beer is soon coming to UK

InBev, the brewing giant formed from the merger of Interbrew and AmBev last year, has declared its intention to make Brazil's Brahma Beer a global brand and has just handed an estimated $40 million launch budget to US agency McGarry Bowen.

If, as expected, it comes to the UK, Brahma Beer will join Peruvian beer Cusqueña, which is about to be rolled out across the country by distributor Chilli Marketing after a trial in Manchester. Halewood International is already ahead of the pack with last year's launch of Brazilian beer A Marca Bravara, under licence from Molson.

Centaur Communications said that despite this interest in the lifestyle, there is a question mark over whether European taste buds will appreciate the crisper, lighter South American beers, which should be drunk "estupidamente gelada" or "stupidly cold". Jamie Lister, director of drinks marketing consultancy Drink Works, says that beers from hot countries sell themselves on "ease of drinking and refreshment", whereas "British drinkers like interesting brands with a lot of flavour."

However, he points out that drinkers aged under 30 are now moving towards ease of drinking, creating room for a premium brand that has a lower alcohol content, at about 4% alcohol by volume, than the northern climate's top-end lagers such as Carlsberg Export and Beck's, which are five percent ABV.

Mexican brands Sol and Corona Extra tried to crack the UK market when they launched more than 15 years ago, but it is lagers from more northerly parts that have continued to dominate the import market, which accounts for 11 percent of consumption (Mintel 2002). Traditionally, the largest exporters of beer to the UK are the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and France.

Whether the new clutch of lager brands from South America will manage to make permanent inroads into the fickle world of the premium packaged lager market remains to be seen.

David Preston, director of marketing premium beers at Coors Beers, says: "There is a nascent specialist lager market that seems to have brands coming in and out a bit quicker than the main brands. Brahma could be one of these. If they give it more focus, it could be bigger."

Halewood marketing controller Fiona Langan adds: "There is a danger of being just a novelty. You have to be careful how you launch it and make sure you generate consumer loyalty."


08 May, 2005