E-Malt.com News article: Finland & Estonia: Estonian beer popular among Finnish consumers - survey

A survey commissioned by Estonia’s A. Le Coq brewery and conducted by Turu-Uuringute AS among Finnish ferry passengers in January showed that two-thirds of Finns would buy Estonian beer also in their home country.

The best known beer brands known to the Finns are A.Le Coq and Saku, the first of them preferred by younger (18-30) and the latter by older (55+) beer drinkers, the report showed.

The increasing sales of Estonian breweries in Finland and on ferries also show that Estonian beer is popular. For example, sales of A.Le Coq Premium in Finland have increased from 1.1 million litres to 2.4 million litres in two years. Sales of A.Le Coq Premium have also increased on ferries sailing between Finland and Sweden, and in harbour shops, achieving a growth of almost 40% in a year.

The report of the Estonian Institute of Economic Research also confirm that Finns have started buying more Estonian beer in their home country, as export of Estonian beer increased 72% in the first nine months of 2010, particularly on account of the beer exported to Finland, which comprised almost a half of the quantity of beer exported. The quantities sold to Finland increased 4.2 times in a year.

Research Manager of Turu-Uuringute AS Iivi Riivits-Arkonsuo says that most Finnish consumers know two Estonian beer brands, which are A.Le Coq and Saku. "The only thing that differentiates these two brands is that older and more conservative Finns prefer Saku whilst younger Finns find that A.Le Coq tastes better and they are more likely to buy that," said Riivits-Arkonsuo.

Turu-Uuringute AS conducted the survey among Finnish ferry passenger at the Port of Tallinn from 15 to 16 January to find out what Finnish tourists think about Estonian beer and brands. 300 people aged 18 to 55+ were interviewed for the survey.


16 February, 2011