Beers of the world - new beer products and marketing campaigns

Modern Brewery Age, July 15, 1991

Warsteiner Importers Agency of Aurora, CO, has concentrated on placing this product in premium draft accounts in the U.S. market. According to the company, U.S. draft sales climbed 56 percent from 1989 to 1990. Warsteiner notes the high draft-to-package ratio in the U.S. market, where draft accounts for 37 percent of the Warsteiner sold.

Warsteiner is brewed according to the tenets of the Reinheitsgebot, from European six-row barley, Tettnang and Saaz hops, yeast and spring water. Prior to packaging, the product is microfiltered instead of pasteurized.

According to Warsteiner Import Agency, the company has developed a distribution system intended to bring the freshest possible product to the U.S. market. Warsteiner Imports reports that all beer destined for the U.S. market is packaged only hours before it is scheduled to leave Germany.

Warsteiner is available in draft accounts in 37 states. It is also available in six-packs of 12-oz. bottles, a 0.5-liter bottle, a five-liter party package and a 50-liter keg.

Wisdom Reports Strong 1990

According to Wisdom Import Sales Co., the company enjoyed the best level of growth of any major importing company throughout the U.S. in 1990, with an increase reported at 14.3 percent overall.

"Wisdom as a company had a truly outstanding year," says company president Manuel Rubiralta. "We're very pleased with our company's performance, especially with Tecate Beer, our top-selling brand, which achieved an extremely strong 17.5-percent sales growth. This is far and away Tecate's best-ever performance since the brand was introduced in the U.S. in 1970."

The company also noted strong growth for Bohemia. According to Wisdom, the brand increased its sales by 10 percent in 1990, and enjoyed its best sales year ever in the U.S. The company noted plans to increase on- and off-premise promotions for the brand.

According to Rubiralta, Wisdom's fastest growing line of imported beverages was the company's Penafiel products, mineral spring water and fruit-flavored beverages. Rubiralta says the line grew at a rate of 18.4 percent in 1990.

During 1990, Wisdom also consolidated its national distribution network for England's Watneys brands. Wisdom received national sales and marketing responsibilities for Watneys products in the U.S. in 1989, and in 1990, Wisdom introduced new labeling and packaging for the brands--Watneys Red Barrel, Watneys Cream Stout and Watneys Light. Rubiralta reports 69-percent growth for the cream stout over the course of the year.

Gambrinus Reports On Corona

Sales of Corona Extra were down 10.3 percent in 1990, according Gambrinus Importing Co. The company blamed the drop on a seven-week strike at Cerveceria Modelo's Mexico City plant. Gambrinus reported the strike forced the company to cut back on its biggest sales promotion of the year, Cinco de Mayo. Gambrinus officials predicted that 1990 sales would have equalled or surpassed 1989 sales if the strike had not happened.

Gambrinus noted also that the company absorbed the federal excise tax in 1991, holding the price on all Corona products. According to the company, this has boosted Corona Extra's sales two percent, while Corona Light is up by six percent.