Heineken premium light

Résumé du document

Dark, blond or red, there is beer for all tastes. Every year all over the world the beer market generates billions of Euros in turnover. There are six international players who are sharing this market. InBev is the result of the merger of the Belgian brewery "Interbrew" and the Brazilian brewery "AmBev". InBev is today the world's biggest brewer due to the volume of brewed beer. Four world-famous brands of the group are Stella Artois, Beck's, Brahma and Leffe. The group also has a portfolio of more than 200 local brands worldwide. SABMiller is the world's second beer producer resulting from the merger of "South African Breweries" and "Miller Brewing". Moreover, the merger of SABMiller and Molson Coors took place in October, 2007. They are present on the American continent and in the Eastern European countries and the key brands of the SABMiller group are Bavaria, Castle Lager and Carling. Heineken is the first European brewer and the world's third brewer. Listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange since 1939, Heineken employs more than 57 000 persons in 115 breweries (65 countries) and generates EUR 11.8 billion of turnover, which corresponded with almost 111 million hectoliters of beer in 2006.

Extraits

[...] The new Heineken Premium Light packaging has been designed to create strategic differentiation from Heineken Lager Beer. The bottle is slimmer and taller, focused on pointing out the premium look. The newly designed six- and 12-packs also clearly highlight the "Light" in the name and have introduced a silver color to further add a premium and light beer impression. Place In the US market, all Heineken beers are distributed throughout bars, grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores and beer and wine outlets without wholesalers as intermediaries. [...]

[...] Heineken Premium Light quickly became the imported light beer brand across these four markets and continued to gain momentum. The following table compares Heineken to 2 main beer importers in the US. Although Heineken lost some market share, it significantly increased its revenues in million between 2003 ($13'362 Million) and 2005 ($14'418 Million), among others, thanks to the launch of the Heineken Premium Light. Heineken Premium Light jumped to 11th place in all imported beer brands after 2005's spring launch, with 7,000,000 cases sold, according to Adams Beverage Group research. [...]

[...] According to Andy Glaser, the Heineken brand director, the launch is intersection of two macro consumer trends. America's obsession with health and fitness has led many consumers to select light alternatives, which have fewer calories than traditional premium beers. The light beer category is now bigger than the full-calorie premium segment, according to an official at Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co., America's second-largest brewer. It is estimated that in the United States 93 million Americans are obese. So, it is evident that light beer comprises the largest part of the U.S. [...]

[...] Products promising guiltless pleasure account for the fastest growing product category within the French Food & Beverage industry, with light drinks showing the largest consumption (Neumann, B., 2006). Light products connected with health have been booming in France since 2003 (Scemama, C., 2005). Furthermore, the French institute Xerfi predicted an enormous potential for light products in France. Even though the main target segment for light products is still women of all ages, food & beverage manufacturers start targeting young adults and teenagers (CCI, 2003). The deriving change in consumer behaviour within France exposes a promising business opportunity for many food & beverage manufacturers. [...]

[...] Andy Glaser, Heineken USA's brand director for Heineken Premium Light justifies the coexistence of Amstel Light and Heineken Premium Light by pointing out the differences in consumer demographics and behavioural patterns of each of the target segments. He states that Heineken Premium Light is reserved for status-driven consumers and for certain occasions, whereas Amstel Light is consumed on a regular base by the middle-income class. Other references however, indicate that Heineken Premium Light is eating into the Amstel Light sales. [...]