Heineken launches Sol

Heineken’s introduction of Sol Mexican lager to South Africa in September 2016 forms part of a plan to boost its market share in a country soon to be dominated by AB-InBev. Fearing that AB-InBev may bring with it Corona Extra plus a host of other international brands, Heineken decided to be the first to offer a Mexican beer.

The Dutch brewer plans to add more premium brands, according to Heineken’s country head Ruud van den Eijnden. Growth will also be achieved through established brands such as Heineken, Amstel and Windhoek.

South Africans seem to go for premium beers, with 39 percent drinking them on a regular basis. Whether this extends to imported super-premium brands remains to be seen. According to Euromonitor, a research firm, South Africans spent more than USD 7.1 billion on beer in 2015, an increase of 9 percent over 2014.

Heineken took full control of its South African operations after dissolving a joint venture with Diageo in 2015. Its share of South Africa’s beer market has remained at about 10 percent over the past five years, dwarfed by SABMiller’s 89 percent.