Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics Sept-Oct 2015

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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www.beveragedynamics.com September/October 2015 • Beverage Dynamics 37 2013-2014 Brand Supplier 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 % Change Yuengling Traditional Lager D.G. Yuengling & Sons 29,700 34,370 37,950 37,170 39,549 6.4% COMEBACK BRANDS Brands that have rebounded in sales to at least the previous level after a recent decline. GUINNESS BLONDE AMERICAN LAGER DIAGEO GUINNESS RISING STAR 2014 CASES SOLD: 250,000 There's never been a more exciting time to be a beer drinker in America: "There is so much great beer around these days, and so many new beers to choose from," says Emma Giles, Guinness brand director. "This challenges us as brewers, but it's a challenge we relish." Beer drinkers today are more educated, she notes. "We believe it's not so much about selling brands now, it's about selling beer," Giles says. It helps that the brand has centuries of experience–Guinness began brewing more than 250 years ago. "We have always had a focus on fl avor and quality, and we have an amazing team of brewers," Giles says. The Blonde American Lager, launched this past fall, "is very much a Guinness brew, designed by our passionate and highly skilled brewers at St James's Gate in Dublin, and brewed using the same 125-year-old yeast strain we use to brew all our stouts," Giles says. "But this particular beer is brewed in America, using the fi nest American ingredients, and of course it's a blonde lager. It's very different to our world-famous stouts, but it is distinctly a Guinness beer." Guinness has invested over $200 million in its St James's Gate facility, including developing a small pilot brewery. "We have a team of very creative, enthusiastic and skilled brewers whose job is simply to invent new beers," Giles says. "This means we have a pipeline of exciting beers we can launch." STELLA ARTOIS CIDRE ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV RISING STAR 2014 CASES SOLD: 22.8 MILLION Q&A WITH RICARDO MARQUES, vice president of high-end marketing at Anheuser-Busch InBev BD: What factors or trends are driving the Stella Cidre brand and the hard cider category? RM: Though cider is still a young category in the U.S., Stella Artois Cidre brings a very distinctive, high-end proposition—a Belgian dry cider—to the market. Ours is a European-style cider made with hand-picked apples from wine-growing regions, and has been treated in the same tradition of thought and care as Stella Artois lager. BD: Are there any specifi c promotions or initiatives that have helped the brand grow? RM: Stella Artois Cidre held summer sweepstakes in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which offered a chance to win a taste of sophisticated leisure: exclusive access to a 20-sq. ft. plot of picnic paradise in the Hamptons. The campaign was supported by local TV, print, OOH and digital advertising, a dedicated website for sweepstakes entries and fresh creative content on Facebook & Twitter. Stella Artois Cidre also partnered with Bravo's Million Dollar Listing New York on a series of humorous vignettes on the sweepstakes. The partnership highlighted the witty nature of the campaign and brand personality, thanks to comical "showings" of the sweepstakes property by the reality show's two stars, Fredrik Eklund and Luis D. Ortiz. BD: How will this brand stay relevant in the future with an ever-evolving consumer? RM: This year we debuted our 6- and 12-pack bottle SKUs, and we're launching our 16-oz. cans on Labor Day. And following the success of the Hamptons summer campaign, Stella Artois Cidre has expanded other campaigns in the second half of this year in additional markets. BEER THEY ARE

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