The latinisation of America
Latin American foods and beverages are delighting Americans, so Miller as well as Anheuser-Busch decided to fabricate their own style of "Mexican-inspired beer beverage". For a taste, grab a Miller Chill or a Budweiser Clamato.
These days, a Spanish-language Budweiser billboard is nothing out of the ordinary in the southern parts of the United States. At Anheuser-Busch they probably call this “segment marketing” – something they do to attract the attention of certain societal groups that have become so large in numbers or important for other reasons to warrant their own address.
If Spanish is soon to be the second lingua franca of the U.S., this is just a consequence of the gradual influx of Latin Americans into the U.S., legal or otherwise. For decades, thousands of Latin Americans have sought the American Dream. But the population census in the United States in 2000 showed the increase in the Latino population to be far greater than expected. In seven of the ten biggest US cities, Latinos now outnumber Blacks; and in the 100 largest cities, Hispanics represented about a quarter of the population. By 2025, there will be 16 million more Latinos (59 million) than Blacks (43 million) in the United States. José is now the most popular name for baby boys in California and Texas.
For some time, Mexicans have been proud that Los Angeles is the second largest “Mexican” city. But it is not just the Mexicans. There are more Salvadoreans now in Los Angeles than in San Salvador. New York City has as many Puerto Ricans as San Juan, and as many Dominicans as Santo Domingo, while New Orleans is the second city of Honduras.
Hispanic populations today comprise more than 37 million people, making the U.S. (total number of inhabitants: 300 million) one of the most important Spanish-speaking countries.
“Latinisation” is a term sometimes used to describe the profound impact that Latinos have on US political structures, economy and culture, from literature, film and music, to language and mass media. Most perceptible their impact has been on food and drink. Mexican food is the major ethnic food taste in the U.S., salsa is the most important condiment. Americans already know that beer goes well with appetisers such as pico de gallo and guacamole and spicy entrees like arroz con pollo, chimichangas, chile rellenos and empanadas.
Nevertheless, it has taken U.S. brewers an inordinately long time to catch up on this trend. Mind you, Anheuser-Busch’s Tequiza, a beer with tequila which came out in 1997 and which Anheuser-Busch for reasons beyond us decided to call a fruit beer (!!!), could serve as proof that brewers have been aware of changing demographic trends. But they waited for another ten years before they openly jumped onto the bandwagon of “latinisation” and launched their respective versions of what Mexicans call a “Michelada”.
“Michelada”, a mix of beer and lime juice, served with ice in a glass which has a rim of salt, has been a favourite in Mexico’s urban youth hotspots for at least the past ten years. However, Anheuser-Busch and rival Miller would not call their beer concoctions a “Michelada”. No, they created the word "Chelada". To anyone south of the Rio Grande, this does not mean anything. But “Cheladas” have had some success in the market and today come to represent perhaps a handful of beer mixes which contain lime juice and salt.
 | Miller’s attempt at cashing in |
In June, Miller rolled out Miller Chill, a beer with lime and salt, which has sold 350,000 barrels in perhaps 4 months. That makes for a great success at such a modest marketing investment.
Since spring, Anheuser-Busch has been testmarketing a product called Budweiser Clamato in some Western states, sold in cans only, which is slated to be rolled out nationally next year. The Budweiser Clamato is probably the strangest mix imaginable (unless you happen to live in Japan where such products are kind of normal), as it contains beer, clam juice (that is fish sauce) and tomato juice. And not to forget some hot pepper. People who have tasted it say that its colour is red and that it has the smell of tomato and lime. For a red beer in a can it is probably not bad, if you know that red beers in some parts of the U.S. are considered a hangover cure. The Clamato version is available for Bud Light too.
Who are these products targeted at? It appears that they are not necessarily reaching out to the Latino consumer. If Miller Chill’s example is anything to go by, it is consumers of imported beer brands, of high-end beers who might try a Miller Chill instead of going for a bottle of wine. Trade sources in the U.S. report that Miller Chill appears to be grabbing purchases from wine and spirits. Miller Chill may not qualify as a category hit on par with Heineken Premium Light, which sold 580,000 barrels last year (backed by a USD 50 million advertising budget), but it could emerge as a decent niche brand that can chip away at the competition if it doesn’t follow the fate of malternative drinks, which tend to peak during the summer and then go into hibernation.
For the time being, Miller Chill is aptly executing store strategy, calling on retailers to stack the brand next to Corona Extra, the number one imported beer.
