USA: Heineken USA expanding its beer offers with new venture that will put more focus on its global brands

Heineken USA is expanding its beer offers in the US with the creation of a new venture that will put more focus on its global brands, Drinks Business Review reported on September 13.

The new venture, dubbed, Five Points Trading Company, will be launched on 1 January 2017. It intends to incubate a range of popular global beers in the US.

The venture will take the responsibility of importing a range of global beers into US which include Red Stripe, Tiger, Birra Moretti, Affligem, Murphy's Stout, Prestige, Sagres and Mort Subite.

Heineken has taken the step of creating a new venture as the licenses of other importing companies that are currently importing and selling these brands are set to expire by the end of this year.

According to the Dutch brewing company, the name Five Points Trading Company has been inspired by the five points of Heineken’s iconic red star and America’s first cultural melting pot in lower Manhattan. It says that the new company will embody the same energy and entrepreneurial spirit of the neighbourhood.

The new company will be led by general manager Charles (Ches) Littlefield and he will manage Heineken’s brands separately with his team.

Littlefield said: "Like its neighborhood namesake, Five Points Trading Company will provide a nexus for new thoughts, perspectives and cultural exploration, while tapping into the legacy and import expertise of HEINEKEN USA.

"This portfolio of exceptional beers provides new opportunities to connect with millennial beer drinkers as they become more global and more adventurous with their taste. We are excited for the transition and are already hard at work developing our 2017 go-to-market strategy."

The beer brands that will be imported by Five Points Trading, each have their own and unique history. Red Stripe beer is imported from Jamaica and it was first developed in 1938. Tiger is a Singapore beer brand which became the favourite brand of the Allied Troops during World War II.

Birra Moretti is an Italian beer first made in 1859. Heineken claims that due to the use of best raw materials, and traditional brewing methods, the beer retains a unique flavour.

Affligem is a Belgian abbey beer which was first brewed by the monks in an abbey in Affligem, Belgium in the 12th century. The beer, owned by Heineken, is still popular today and it the beer-making process is overlooked by monks.

13 September, 2016