Return of Foster’s?
Once Australia’s top-selling beer, Foster’s Lager can now be found on tap in just ten bars and pubs scattered across the country: three in the state of Queensland, two in New South Wales, three in Victoria and two in Western Australia.
The last surviving venues were revealed by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), following its launch of Foster’s Classic, a new packaged-only variant created to leverage the brand’s retro appeal. The iconic Foster’s brand has been embraced by drinkers as Foster’s Classic, according to CUB and Woolworths, owner of liquor retailers Dan Murphy’s and BWS.
Foster’s Classic has hit its sales targets since its launch on Australia Day, 26 January 2015, according to CUB’s owner, brewer SABMiller.
Different from Foster’s Premium Lager, it’s said to be “an easier-drinking, more contemporary style of beer with a lower bitterness.”
SABMiller reported that its Australian beer sales fell by 1 percent by volume in the year to March, with core CUB brands Carlton Draught, Crown Lager and Victoria Bitter all slipping in a period in which beer consumption fell to its lowest for about 60 years.
Nevertheless, press reports in March this year indicated that VB had regained its position as Australia’s biggest selling beer brand, after a period of some months in which Lion’s XXXX Gold, a mid-strength (3.5% ABV) beer, was on top.
Latest Nielsen figures show that VB has a 12.2 percent market share of the off-premise beer market against 11.9 percent for XXXX Gold. However, as the latter beer is also available on tap around the country, total sales for the brand could be well ahead of those for VB which is not sold in draught format.
