Assobirra, the association of Italian brewers, which has gone through turmoil following the departure of some of its smaller members last year, has decided that a bit of PR on behalf of beer could do their business no harm. Having welcomed two new members to their club, the privately owned Theresianer and InBev (even though InBev does not even have a brewery in Italy), Assobirra launched an initiative under the motto “Birra – gusto naturale” (“beer – the natural taste”). The launch party was held in Milan in July. In support of Assobirra’s initiative, Mario Abis, who heads the Italian market research company Makno, presented recent findings according to which the Italian beer consumer cherishes beer quality above all. Alas, he (yes, beer is a male affair) is also very brand conscious and only chooses labels which appeal to his personality and sense of value.

It cannot have been in the interest of Beck’s or its parent InBev that furious wholesalers had to turn to the media for help. Apparently InBev Germany had underestimated the rising demand for Beck’s beer. During the first half of 2006, the sale of Beck’s increased by an estimated 17 percent. Due to low levels of returnable bottles at the brewery many wholesalers did not receive their quota of Beck’s. Therefore they could not keep their customers happy.

Reports of a death in the bottle pool are wrong, says the Czech Association of Breweries, it’s just that the country’s favourite beverage now goes to market in at least six shapely bottles instead of the previous two, writes Lyle Frink from Prague.

At the beginning of August this year InBev announced the outsourcing of its Western European and Global Headquarters’ business systems and application services to LogicaCMG. InBev’s most recent move is a follow-up of InBev’s intention announcement from February this year to rationalise its information services. It seems that if InBev continues with outsourcing its headquarter’s staff, the only people to work at its glitzy head offices in Leuven will soon be executives and cleaners only. The brewer said that the transfer to LogicaCMG involves about 70 people and covers the countries Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the UK & Ireland, Germany, Italy and France. All staff affected by the decision will be offered the opportunity to transfer to LogicaCMG.

Sometimes it pays not to listen to your critics. In the case of Heineken, financial analysts and other armchair strategists have complained for years that Heineken was too cautious and too tardy when it came to entering the Russian beer market. While International brewers like Baltika (jointly owned by Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle), SABMiller and Efes were busy securing market share, Heineken preferred to stay on the side lines watching. In a market as large and heterogeneous as the Russian, Heineken could afford to wait until the early rounds of consolidation were completed. Because being tops in St. Petersburg or Moscow does not mean you are set and done.

In a recent interview with the national media, the chairman of the Dr Oetker Group, August Oetker, best-known for custard power and frozen pizzas, admitted that he would be prepared to sell his beer business if it repeatedly missed its profit target, thus contradicting his top beer man Ulrich Kallmeyer, who has always maintained the group’s allegiance to beer.

Orbisphere 510 goes multi channel

Orbisphere electrochemical sensors are widely regarded as leaders in the field of selective gas measurement. The new Orbisphere 510 is a further enhancement to an already successful product launched in 2005. ...

Disappearing act

Two years ago, there was still talk that Actris, Germany’s tenth largest brewing and mineral water group, would team up with an international brewer. Or so they hoped. That hope never materialised as Actris was just another assortment of regional beer and water brands in both western and eastern parts of Germany, none of which had any national potential. Last year, the founder of the SAP software house, Dietmar Hopp, let it be known that he wanted to sell his beer and beverage investments which are part of the Actris Holding which he founded in 1999.....

Food Chain Centre: Brewer improves efficiency through strategic partnership

An industry leading agreement between brewer Coors Brewers Ltd and Frontier Agriculture has been strengthened as a result of a Value Chain Analysis (VCA) organised as part of the Cereals Industry Forum (CIF). The CIF project has enabled Coors and Frontier to improve planning and communication and cut the cost of production. By ‘walking the chain’, from the farm to the brewing stage, all the companies involved were able to identify areas for improvement. Jonathan Hoyland, Barley and Oat Trading Manager of leading UK arable company Frontier comments: “It is only by working more closely with our end customers that real supply chain gains can be identified and delivered, benefiting both grower and end user.”...

Excises on beer will go up 8.5 percent

The Union of Russian Brewers said in a press release on 23 May 2006 that the State Duma’s subcommittee for tax legislation backed a government-sponsored bill to amend Chapter 22 of the second part of the Tax Code and other legislation. The bill sets excise rates for 2007.