What’s Aloha in Portuguese?

Clever AB-InBev. With consumer interest for U.S. craft beers rising in many parts of the world, they did not wait for their competition to fill the shelves, they did it themselves. After launching the Goose Island craft beer brands in The Netherlands and Belgium last year, they are now taking the Hawaiian Kona beer to Australia and Latin America.

Earlier this year, the publicly traded Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), in which AB-InBev has a 32 percent stake, announced that it is partnering with AmBev, the Brazilian subsidiary of AB-InBev, to expand the distribution of Kona beers to Brazil.

AmBev is Brazil’s leading beer and beverage company with a market share of 68 percent. Whereas in the past AmBev had to compete with Brazil’s 300+ pesky craft brewers by pushing its German wheat beer brand Franziskaner, it is now well positioned to meet the increasing demand from Brazilian beer drinkers with a genuine American brew.

“We’re excited to continue building on our long-standing partnership with AB-InBev through forging this pioneering new relationship with AmBev,” said Andy Thomas, CEO of Craft Brew Alliance. “We think the opportunity for Kona in Brazil is massive, especially with the great synergies between Hawaiian and Brazilian culture, with their amazing beaches and strong water lifestyles. “

Founded in 1994 on the Big Island of Hawaii, Kona Brewing Co. has grown to be a top 10 craft beer brand in the U.S., largely based on the company’s strong connection to Hawaii as a top travel destination.

In Brazil, Kona will launch an Ale and a Lager.