Heineken – Keep It Overproof!

Distribs Across the Country Share Best Practices

Dear Client: We’ve talked to a ton of distributors over the past week to get a feel for how they’re adapting in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. One common theme, no matter the person’s time in the beer industry, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” One distributor described it to me as, “It’s like flying a 747 right above the treeline. You’ll probably be okay, but you can’t make any mistakes.” We are truly in uncharted waters. So with essentially every wholesaler learning on the fly right now, we figured it would...

Budget live: Chancellor freezes alcohol duties and abolishes business rates for small retailers

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer has frozen alcohol duties for spirit, wine and beer, and abolished business rates for the year for hundreds of thousands of small retailers and businesses in the hospitality sector. Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who only took on the role last month, has cut a planned increase in duty across spirits, wine and beer, noting it was only the second time in 20 years that all alcohol duties had been frozen and reiterated the upcoming review of UK alcohol taxation that was unveiled during the Queen’s speech. He also singled out the value of Scotch to the...

Dolf van den Brink to Replace Jean-François van Boxmeer as Heineken CEO June 1

Posted in Beer, Industry.

Dear Client: After “his successful 15-year leadership of the company,” Heineken N.V. is announcing that Jean-Francois van Boxmeer will be replaced by former Heineken USA chief and 22-year Heineken vet, Dolf van den Brink, come June 1. Recall, Dolf announced he would leave the top position at HUSA in the summer of 2015 after six … Continue reading “Dolf van den Brink to Replace Jean-François van Boxmeer as Heineken CEO June 1” You are unauthorized to view this page. Read the full article

Top drinks marketing campaigns and news in January

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Diageo launches Seedlip’s first ad campaign Drinks giant Diageo has led the fight to keep sales buoyant during January by launching its first advertising campaigns in the UK and US for non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip. It is the first time that Diageo has set up an ad campaign for Seedlip, after upping its investment in the popular non-alcoholic brand to a ‘significant’ majority stake in August 2019. Developed by Seedlip’s EU marketing director, Ben Thomson, alongside creative agency And Rising, it features the strapline: ‘Drink to the Future’,...

Why Canopy Growth has delayed its cannabis drinks launch

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Canopy Growth Corp has been forced to delay the launch of its first cannabis drinks. Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton As shares are marked down and product launches are delayed, the future is hazy for Canada’s biggest cannabis growing firm. Canopy Growth, whose largest shareholder is drinks giant Constellation Brands, has postponed the launch of a line of cannabis drinks as it hasn’t been able to scale its production to commercial levels yet. The grower had planned to launch its first cannabis drinks across Canada in January, but chief executive David Klein said it had only been able...

HUSA Chief on the “Infinite Game”

Posted in Beer, Industry.

Dear Client: Heineken USA chief Maggie Timoney took the stage at The Breakers this week. She opened up asking the audience if there were any Seinfeld fans in the room, because “this’ll be about 20 minutes of nothing,” she joked, as the company is in its quiet period. That didn’t prove true. She teased imminent … Continue reading “HUSA Chief on the “Infinite Game”” You are unauthorized to view this page. Read the full article

Heineken expected to raise stake in United Breweries after Mallya ruling

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The world’s third largest brewing company, Heineken, is widely expected to increase its stake in India’s United Breweries (UBL) following a court ruling in Mumbai that creditor banks can sell the assets of Vijay Mallya to recoup his debts to them of more than £1.15 billion. Mallya, whose appeal against extradition to India will be heard in the High Court in London early next month, is the former controlling owner of UB, who sold much of his stake to Heineken as his financial troubles mounted. By last autumn, Heineken was the effective controller of India’s largest brewer...

Top marketing moves in drinks: November

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Heineken to sponsor Euro2020 and Champions League Heineken will be the Official Beer Partner of next year’s UEFA Euro men’s football tournament, and has also extended its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League for the next five years. The two separate agreements means the brewer is now the major beer sponsor of Europe’s leading club and international football tournaments. Its partnership with the UEFA Champions League is already 25 years old, and the new deal extends the brand’s sponsorship through to 2024. The new Euro partnership will see Heineken given exclusive pouring rights in the...

UK beer trademarks reach record high

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The number of beer names trademarked in the UK reached a record high last year, as the beer market becomes increasingly diverse. Beer trademarks have almost doubled in five years. (Photo: RPC) The number of beers trademarked in the UK rose 6% in 2018 to 2,519, up from 2,372 in 2017*, according to London law firm RPC. BrewDog, for example, now has over 130 trademarks registered in the UK, while brewers such as Heineken, Guinness, and Ab InBev have added more beers to their portfolios in recent months. Registered trademarks for beer have almost doubled in the last five years, rising 89% from...

Beer Masters 2019: results in full

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The year’s Beer Masters showed the development of styles in the sector, as well as the the growth of the low- and no-alcohol category. WHEN WE launched the Beer Masters in 2014, the craft beer industry was starting to mature. Now we’re seeing much more variety in the sector, from barrel-aged imperial stouts and low-ABV pale ales, to hop-forward IPAs and lagers made from leftover bread. We may not yet have seen see smoothie-thick New England IPAs and double-fermented cranberry Goses in supermarkets, but the list of beers entered into our Masters this year shows just how the UK’s everyday beer-drinking...

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