Lion hits back at craft brewers with new beer range and advertising
The new Crafty Beggars range of beers, produced by Lion, has been banned by a retailer because its advertising material is “an insult to a great industry". In early March 2013 the retailer Liquorland Newmarket tweeted that it would no longer stock Crafty Beggars brews due to the tagline causing a backlash among drinkers.
The range is marketed with the following description: “Someone should make a craft beer you can actually drink. That’s the conclusion we Crafty Beggars came to. A rogue society, hidden deep within the industry, made up of nine brewers of unsurpassed skill and fanaticism, who all agreed that beer had gone in two directions – either hopelessly middle of the road, or so snobbily crafty that one overpriced sip will blow your face off in a blitzkrieg of hops and whatever else has been arbitrarily thrown in. Something had to be done.“
Although there may be a kernel of truth in this, Lion was quick to point out that the promotional bumf was pure irony. The range was designed for mainstream drinkers interested in trying something new but who were not yet ready for some of the extreme flavour options available from the craft beer community.
Lion also insisted that the nine brewers mentioned are real people within the company.
However, many beer lovers and commentators were not amused and indignantly pointed out that Lion’s approach denigrates the industry, particularly the 50 or so craft brewers in New Zealand. Incidentally, Lion own two craft beer brands themselves: Mac’s and Emerson’s. What is more, the offending Crafty Beggars Pilsner won a silver medal in its category at the International Brewing Awards in Britain in February 2013.
For several months , the debate over “faux craft” beers has made big waves in New Zealand. Craft–looking beers by major brewers Lion (owned by Japan’s Kirin) and DB (owned by Heineken) have been around for a while but seem to have become more apparent as the big brewers respond to the perceived threat of true craft beer.
Craft beers have been on the rise, often growing by low two–digit rates, while overall beer consumption has declined for years. Still, Lion (50 %) and DB (35 %) continue to control the beer market. Independent Liquor (owned by Asahi) has an estimated 6 percent of the market, imports stand at 4 percent and craft brewers at 5 percent.
Interestingly, in the recent brouhaha over Crafty Beggars some consumers showed a sense of humour and tweeted that Lion could get Liquorland Newmarket to restock its Crafty Beggars range through some “crafty begging”.
