DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?

MillerCoors CMO Ready to Drive “Extraordinary” Portfolio

Andy England lays out priorities.

MillerCoors is well-positioned to capitalize on the fastest-growing and most lucrative areas of the beer business, the joint venture’s incoming chief marketing officer said on Monday.

“We’re here to drive the profitable growth of the beer business,” Andy England, currently CMO of Coors Brewing Company, said at a meeting of Miller Brewing Company employees.

MillerCoors has a “really extraordinary collection of brands, without question the best collection of brands in the U.S. beer industry,” he said.

MillerCoors has two sharply differentiated light beers -- Miller Lite standing for more taste and Coors Light standing for cold refreshment -- that can effectively compete against Bud Light.

Its lineup of crafts and imports, which includes Blue Moon, Leinenkugel’s, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell and Molson, is a “collection that is about to explode,” he said.

MillerCoors also is well positioned in economy.

England described his philosophy of brand marketing. The first part is “making sure every brand we have in our portfolio stands for something very specific.”

That is “followed by relentless execution of our positioning.”

England has a proven track record. Advertising Age recently credited Coors Brewing Company’s success partly to its sharply differentiated, product-focused and consistent marketing.

Here's Brew Blog's coverage of the Ad Age article about Coors marketing.

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InBev to Busch: Let’s Make the “World’s Leading Beer Company”

Would make Budweiser global flagship brand.

Best known as a ruthless cost-cutter, InBev CEO Carlos Brito is trying to turn on the charm as he makes a $46 billion unsolicited bid to acquire Anheuser-Busch.

Brito, in communications with the public and A-B CEO August Busch IV, has said that InBev would make the A-B organization and brands essential parts of the combined entity -- going so far as to rename the company to “evoke the heritage of (A-B’s) key brands” (InBusch? InBud?) and make Budweiser the company’s global flagship brand.

The question is, will it work or will the deal get hostile?

Recall that August IV told A-B distributors that A-B would not be sold on his watch. And in a memo to distributors -- reported by Beer Business Daily -- August IV suggested A-B was not going to rush to make a decision.

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Miller Wins 4
“Hot Brand” Awards

Miller Chill, Sunset Wheat, Peroni and Sparks Plus recognized.

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Miller Brewing Company won four “Hot Brand” awards from industry newsletter Impact – more than any other brewer.

The “Hot Brand” awards go to the industry’s most dynamic products, the newsletter said. The Miller brands recognized by Impact were:

-- Miller Chill and Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat in the domestic beer category

-- Peroni Nastro Azzurro in the imported beer category

-- Sparks Plus in the ready-to-drink category

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Coors Light, Busch Win Memorial Day

Gain share as overall category down.

Coors Light and the Busch franchise hold the share growth honors for the two-week Memorial Day holiday period ended May 31, according to beer sales statistics from Nielsen.

Each brand gained 0.3 volume share points versus last year, according to Nielsen’s beer market analysis.

Coors Light increased its feature and discount support when compared to last year and its baseline trends were superior to those of Bud Light and Miller Lite.

The Busch franchise, meanwhile, saw increased discount support and nearly flat pricing versus the year-earlier period.

Overall, category holiday volume was down 1.8 percent during the holiday period, according to Nielsen’s beer market analysis. The national average weighted case price was up 2.6 percent.

 

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A-B Drops More Brands

Peels line appears gone.


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Innovation is hard work -- even for a dominant industry leader like Anheuser-Busch.

The brewer has rolled out dozens of new products in recent years in an effort to mine new sources of growth in the beer industry. None of them have been runaway hits. Bud Select, its biggest success, has been declining since the year it was launched despite receiving tens of millions in marketing support.

A-B disclosed in its 10-k filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it’s giving up on some new brands.

Particularly of note: The Peels line of alcohol fruit juices appears to be history, or close ot it. Marketed in department stores and spas, the product represented a new effort by A-B to market to women. But sales never took off.

The filing lists every single brand in the lineup – save the last entrant Nectarine Citrus – as being discontinued. Nor does the label appear on a page of A-B’s Web site that lists brands. Peels Pear Lemon was discontinued last year.

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Budweiser Losing Distribution in Supermarkets

Follows long-running share decline.

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In recent years, Budweiser has shown an uncanny ability to gain shelf space in supermarkets and convenience stores even as its sales decline.

But performance finally appears to be catching up with Budweiser, at least in supermarkets.

Budweiser saw the number of items carried in supermarkets (a proxy for shelf space) slip by 0.1 points, according to beer sales statistics from Nielsen.

That may seem modest – but Bud has now suffered this same 0.1 point loss for 12 consecutive rolling four-week periods.

Simply put, that’s the first such distribution loss detected for Bud on record. And it comes as Bud is posting one of the biggest velocity declines in the business. According to Nielsen, case sales are down 8.1 percent per total distribution points – a proxy Nielsen uses to measure breadth of distribution.

Given that performance, perhaps it’s not surprising that A-B is ratcheting up spending for Budweiser – and rolling out a major line extension, Bud Light Lime, that could take up some of that lost shelf space.


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CRAFT BEERS HOT, EVERYWHERE....

Jacksonville, Houston and Miami supermarkets stocking up.

The growth of craft beer is one of the hottest beer industry trends going. And one of the most striking things about it is how it’s truly a national, as opposed to regional, trend.

Supermarkets in 93 percent of all measured markets reported higher craft beer sales so far this year, according to beer industry analysis by Nielsen.

Indeed, even non-traditional markets such as Jackonville, Fla., Houston and Miami have seen big increases in the number of craft beer items on store shelves.

For example, the average Jacksonville supermarkets carries 18.6 craft beer items – 6.2 more items than a year ago, according to Nielsen’s beer market analysis. Houston supermarkets carry 26.8 items, an increase of 7.8 items. Miami stores carry 16.6 items, up 6.6 items.

As for what crafts sold the best: in Jacksonville the two top sellers were Blue Moon Belgian White Ale and Sam Adams Boston Lager; in Miami it was Sam Adams and Blue Moon; and in Houston it was Shiner Bock and Shiner Blond.

Jay Brookston, of the Brookston Beer Bulletin, recently noted the Southeast showed the greatest craft growth of any region. Read it here.

Will Bud Light Lime Squeeze Bud Light?

Bud Light loses share in supers.

As expected, the Anheuser-Busch system has done a phenomenal job of bringing Bud Light Lime to market.

Bud Light Lime has sold in stores that account for 77 percent of supermarket sales in its first three weeks, according to beer market analysis by Nielsen.

Bud Light Lime’s volume share stood at 0.9 percent and its dollar share at 1.2 percent in supermarkets during the week ended May 10, according to beer sales statistics from Nielsen.

Miller Chill, meanwhile, continued it build sequentially. Its volume share stood at 0.4 percent and its dollar share at 0.5 percent for the week period.

One question for A-B is to what extent Bud Light Lime will cannibalize Bud Light. Bud Light saw its volume share slip by 0.5 points during the week (it slipped by 0.1 points for the four-week period).

This could be coincidence. But it’s also possible that up to half of Bud Light Lime’s volume came from Bud Light.

Now, Bud Light Lime is a trade up from Bud Light. But it can be problematic for flagship brands if consumers wander away to try something else. Because they can wander farther afield and don't always return.

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Miller Lite Brewers Collection Going National

Going into markets by September.

After exceeding expectations in test markets, Miller Lite Brewers Collection -- a trio of craft-style light beers -- is going nationwide.

“We are going to take Miller Lite Brewers Collection national and we’re going to do it by September,” Miller Brewing Company CEO Tom Long said from the stage on Tuesday at Miller’s distributor meeting in New Orleans.

In making the announcement, Long recalled last year’s conference when Miller announced it was accelerating the national rollout of Miller Chill. The result: It became the year’s biggest new product, generating $40 million of sales in supermarkets.

Tom Cardella, Miller’s executive vice president-sales and distribution, pointed out Miller Lite Brewer’s Collection’s strengths in its four test markets. Two big ones: It’s exceeded volume targets by 40 percent and it’s also exceeded distribution targets.

Miller Lite Brewers Collection went into four test markets -- Baltimore, Charlotte, N.C., Minneapolis, and San Diego -- in February.

The lineup includes a blonde ale, an amber and a wheat -- each with significantly fewer calories and carbs than typical beers of that style.

Miller Lite Brewers Collection is aimed at mainstream light beer drinkers and capitalizes on three beer industry trends: the popularity of light beer; consumers seeking more variety, including crafts; and people willing to pay more for brands that offer a unique experience.

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Coors to Expand Blue Moon

Pale ale in the pipeline.

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After successfully adding a full portfolio of Blue Moon seasonals, Coors Brewing Company is poised to add another line extension.

Coors is getting ready to add a pale ale -- called Pale Moon -- to the family.

From Beer Business Daily, which was covering Coors’ distributor conference:

Lastly, Blue Moon is getting a baby brother, Pale Moon (a pale ale). Pale Moon will launch in several test cities next month and rollout nationally in 2009 if all goes well.

According to a label approved by federal regulators, Pale Moon is billed as a "Belgian-style pale ale."

"Pale Moon is a drinkable pale ale that has a distinctive hop aroma, without the lingering aftertaste," the label says. "This Belgian-Style Pale Ale is brewed with European malts, cascade hops and a touch of hibiscus and orange peel. Thse ingredients create a rich copper colored ale with a flavor complexity that one would expect from the Blue Moon Brewing Company."

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HPL to Get “a Boatload of Money"

Targeting 1 million people for sampling.

Heineken USA is planning a big push to drive trial of Heineken Premium Light and close distribution gaps with Heineken, reports the May 19 orange sheet edition of Beer Marketer’s Insights.

From the issue:

HUSA will be “spending a boatload of money” on HPL “generating trial” including over 5300 on-premise events, said sr veep mktg Ken Kunze. Aims to sample 1 mill people over coming mos. Turns out only 50% even aware of HPL, only 3% of households have tried it. But a significant majority of those who try HPL are repeat customers.

BMI quotes Chris Steffanci, Heineken USA’s senior vice president of sales, as saying that HPL is still in “launch” phase and its distribution level is not close to Heineken’s. Thus, closing gaps represents an opportunity.

 





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