“A third significant player will emerge” – Interview
From a competitive perspective, some of the recent initiatives among importers should also help going forward: (1) they have not increased prices as quickly as the major domestic players; (2) they are beginning to increase investment behind marketing programs; (3) many new brands and packages are being imported that are expanding usage occasions and attracting experimenters; and (4) they over-index to the on-premise sector (= they have a greater volume going through restaurants and taverns than the total market does) which have declined sharply with the economy and are expected to slowly recover in 2010.
To provide a point of comparison, flavoured spirits is around 8 percent of total volume. If you include niche imported beer with craft beer, it would approach around 8 percent of total market if craft were to hit 6 percent share.
Questions: Ina Verstl