South Africa: Price-conscious consumers switch to beer

Distell Group Ltd., South Africa’s biggest wine and liquor producer, is facing greater competition from brewers such as SABMiller Plc and Diageo Plc as price-conscious consumers switch to beer, Managing Director Jan Scannell was quoted as saying by Bloomberg on February, 16.

“In the alcoholic beverage industry, people move between categories to where they believe they get better value,” Scannell said.

“Beer, without doubt, is playing a role in that. We also see that in wine. People are buying lower-priced products.”

Distell products include Klipdrift brandy, Tassenberg wines and Count Pushkin vodka. They compete for market share against SABMiller’s Castel, Lion and Peroni beers, and Diageo’s Smirnoff vodka and Guinness stout brands.

18 February, 2011