Scotland's elite drinkers set for a taste of old Brazil Leading bars

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Apr 3, 2005 | by Ian Fraser

STYLE bar regulars in Glasgow and Edinburgh are to get a taste of Brazil from next month when Tennent Caledonian Breweries launches Brahma lager exclusively in places like the Opal Lounge and Bar Soba.

The company said it is adopting a "seeding strategy", that will focus on making the Latin American beer available to "opinion formers" in "leading edge venues".

Brahma entered InBev's portfolio following the pounds-6.1 billion merger of Tennent's parent, Belgium-based Interbrew, with Ambev, Latin America's biggest brewer, in March 2004.

The beer, which has been selling in Brazil for 117 years, is initially only being made available in a hand-picked selection of leading-edge style bars. This is one way in which brewers and distillers can give an exotic image to their new products, creating a buzz and sense of discovery among the earlier triallers.

A similar strategy was adopted by William Grant & Son when it launched its innovative gin, Hendrick's, in the UK market. Along with the style-bar placing, the specialist gin is presented in oldfashioned medicine bottles and is distilled using traditional botanicals such as juniper and citrus peel. It is being positioned as the ideal spirit base for cocktails to the upmarket funloving crowd.

Meanwhile SABMiller, the world's fourth-largest brewer, recently opened an art installation resembling a clothes store on London's Sloane Street to draw attention to its Peroni Nastro Azzurro brand, an Italian beer the company acquired and has revamped to appeal to more affluent consumers.

Such strategies can enhance a new product's chances of building and retaining superpremium status, as it will appear rare, and only known to a select group of cognoscenti.

In Edinburgh, Brahma is to be introduced to places such as Opal Lounge, Candy Bar, Oloroso, Rick's and the Hallion Club. The Glasgow locations are expected to include Bar Soba, Zinc, Groucho St Jude's, Arta and the Corinthian.

From May, InBev will then roll out the imported lager to around 900 UK establishments. This will be accompanied by pounds-5 million on advertising spending, although the company would not confirm that figure.

Rob Bruce, spokesman for Tennent's, said: "With Brahma we're targeting a slightly older market. Unlike most lagers, which are targeting 18 to 25year-olds, we believe this will appeal to more worldly wise consumers, aged over 25.

"Initially it will be a niche brand. We intend to start small."

Overall InBev is launching Brahma beer in more than 15 countries this year, in the hope the Brazilian brew will revive demand in the slowing beer markets of Western Europe and the US. The world's eighth-largest beer brand, it is also being launched in the US, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Australia, and New Zealand. It will also be distributed in Russia and Ukraine.

InBev expects to sell around 150 million litres of Brahma outside Brazil by the end of 2007, and to generate euros 30 million in earnings before interest, tax and goodwill amortisation from the brand by the end of 2007. Advertisements for the global campaign have been produced by New York-based ad agency McGarry Bowen, which was asked to reposition Brahma, previously only available in Brazil, as a global brand, on a dollars-40m budget.

It will be promoted using the relaxed attitude and lifestyle associated with Brazilian culture.

However Bruce said: "It is not going to be Brazil in a bottle. It's being positioned as the real Brazil, getting under the skin of the country rather than looking at the traditional stereotypes."

At an analysts' meeting earlier this month, InBev chief executive John Brock said: "The introduction of Brahma as one of our global flagship brands is absolutely a strategic milestone for our winning brand portfolio.

We invest in our brands to create a long-term competitive advantage. This is exactly what we are going to start doing with Brahma in 2005.

InBev's other brands include Stella Artois, Beck's, Staropramen and Leffe. Rival beers to Brahma include the Mexican lagers Corona Extra and Dos Equis Special Lager.

Time will tell whether the marketing moves will pay off.

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