USA: Heineken bringing new Mexican beer to the US

Heineken USA will roll out Indio, a Mexican dark beer brewed and sold in Mexico since 1893, beginning in June, Shanken News Daily reported on June, 12.

The brand will initially be available in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio in 6-packs and 12-packs. Indio will target Hispanic males ages 21-26 looking for brands “that creatively fuse urban and Latino cultures,” according to the company. The marketing push behind the launch includes “The Indio Experience,” a series of road shows for distributors and retailers, as well as sampling, online communication, digital advertising and out-of-home ads.

Heineken USA, the second-largest importer of Mexican beer in the U.S. after Crown Imports, saw U.S. volume of its Mexican business increase 0.5% in 2011 to 35.7 million (2.25-gallon) cases, according to Impact Databank. Total Mexican beer shipments to the U.S. reached 196.9 million cases last year, up 4.5% from 2010, with growth driven by Crown’s Modelo Especial and Victoria (introduced into the U.S. in 2010 after nearly 150 years in Mexico) as well as Heineken USA’s own Tecate Light and Dos Equis Lager brands.

13 June, 2012