Heineken’s plug&play draught systems are a sizeable venture
The Netherlands | January’s electronics sales are upon us. So why not use the discounts and splash out on one of Heineken’s draught systems? The discounts available are wide-ranging, though.
During an investor conference in November 2019, Heineken’s Chief Commercial Officer Jan Derck van Karnebeek mentioned that what is called an “adjacent business model” (its draught systems David and Blade for the on-trade and the Sub et al for in-home consumption) is actually a sizeable, profitable and growing business for the Dutch brewer.
Those gadgets had a net turnover of more than EUR 300 million, following five years of steady increases, which averaged at about 15 percent annually.
Draught beer from your kitchen counter
Mr van Karnebeek admitted that these systems now sell more than 2 million hl beer. “If you do the quick math”, he added, “it means it sells at a very significant premium, compared to the rest of the business. And because these are bespoke systems, the keg only works with the machine, this of course is a very compelling business model.”
The kegs vary in size: from 20 litre kegs, all the way down to 2 litre kegs.
He boasted that “this is a success which has been 20 years in the making, but we've learned along the way to master the technologies around costs, quality and affordability which now make this a very meaningful business to us.”
Beerwolf.com had a Sub on offer for EUR 109 (USD 120), down from EUR 169.
