The global beer market continues to grow despite the dramatic upheaval in the world’s financial markets in 2008. The economic woes have however impacted beer volumes and according to Canadean, the leading beverage research agency, growth in the global beer market dropped from a respectable 6 percent in 2007 to less than 2 percent in 2008. Canadean’s recently published Global Beer Trends Report anticipates a further slowdown in 2009 before demand begins to accelerate again in 2010.

In the third quarter of 2009, Symrise AG improved its sales and earnings despite continued economic challenges. In a weak overall market, the Group increased third-quarter sales over the same period of 2008 by 5.6 percent at local currency, and by 4 percent on a pro forma basis. Both business divisions and all regions contributed to the growth. The EBITDA rose by 12 percent at local currency in the third quarter, benefiting decisively from the improved sales performance as well as from the first savings effects from the restructuring measures implemented in the first half of the year. In the first nine months of the year, the Group achieved an EBITDA margin, adjusted for restructuring expenses, of 19.7 percent.

Third Quarter Results

Turning a fossil junkie into an energy autarchic

Breweries provide themselves almost exclusively with fossil energy. Kaspar Schulz KG, Bamberg, has developed a concept for providing CO2-neutral energy to breweries to protect the environment and reduce the cost of energy by eliminating the continued reduction of our natural resources.

Why not?

The struggle between brewers for mastery of the world’s markets over the past twenty years has everything: two mighty foes, AB-InBev and SABMiller, convinced of their own destiny; two boisterous also-rans, Heineken and Carlsberg, who thought they could keep up, but failed; a cast of larger-than-life Brazilian investors, vituperative Mexican families, Belgian nobles, and obdurate American CEOs, whom the media dubbed “the kings of beer”; and one astonishing set-piece battle, the takeover of Anheuser-Busch, that witnessed the sort of savagery and sheer bloody-minded audacity that make one’s hair stand on end.

Sustainability in practice

The Kyoto protocol from 1997 which entered into force in February 2005 was followed by the 6th Environment Action Programme, the European Commission’s environment priorities for 2002 to 2012. On 9 December 2008 the EU Parliament delegation, the EU Council and the European Commission agreed on the EU Directive on Renewable Energy. The directive sets ambitious standards to put renewable energy at top of energy mixes. One of the goals is to increase the market share of renewable energy from around 8.5 percent today to 20 percent by 2020 by means of binding national targets. That raises the question what can be done in practice to achieve those objectives.

1989 and all that

We seem to know what we mean when we remember “1989”: images of jubilant crowds standing on top of the Berlin Wall are vivid in our minds. But when we reflect on the seismic changes that came with it – the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, the rise of American hegemony – 1989 feels like ancient history. Still, the ruptures of 1989 heralded in an era of accelerated globalisation. As China, Russia, India, the nations of eastern Europe and Latin America began to deregulate and liberalise their economies, many brewing companies pursued a feisty acquisitions policy to establish beachheads. But only a brewer from South Africa knew that it would take more than clever deal-making for a company to grow sustainably: a belief in people, a brand-led culture and a long-term vision. Twenty years after they embarked on their international expansion scheme, SABMiller rank as the world’s only truly global brewer.

Two of the most famous names in brewery engineering technology, GEA Group companies Huppmann and Tuchenhagen Brewery Systems, merged their operations in March 2009 to form a new division called GEA Brewery Systems. The best, it seems, is about to get better.

More than just packaging

With around 50 per cent of product choices made spontaneously at the point of purchase, packaging must not only persuade with its functionality, but its visual appearance is also of great importance and of increasing significance. Today’s beverage cans succeed on both counts: not only are they extremely practical but, due to the countless design possibilities, they are also able to act as brand “ambassadors”.

Following recent M&A activity, notably the recent creation of A-B InBev, Plato Logic have now prepared an updated Top 10 World Brewers league table, based pro forma 2008 volumes (latest estimates).