E-Malt.com News article: 4499

Belgium: InBev, the world’s largest brewer by volume, announced on March 22 the global launch of Brazilian beer brand, Brahma®, the beer with the true spirit of Brazil — ‘Ginga’. The launch spans more than 15 countries in markets all around the world. Not only is a global launch of this scale unique in the consumer goods industry, but the brand and its approach is very different than any other beverage. The brand will be packaged in an iconic, contoured bottle with an original, visible curve or sway. Brahma® captures the authenticity of Brazil and aspires to bring the Brazilian attitude and lifestyle to consumers worldwide. Brahma will break existing beer paradigms, and is a strong visible sign of the power of the combination of Interbrew and AmBev as InBev.

When InBev announced the combination between Interbrew and AmBev on March 3rd, 2004, the company also announced that there would be important synergies as a result of bringing the two companies together: a pre-tax total of 140 million euro of annual commercial synergies by 2007. The selling of Brahma® outside of its home market is expected to contribute 30 million euro by the end of 2007.

John Brock, InBev CEO, said: “Only seven months after the two companies combined we experience today a very strong visible and tangible sign of the collective strength of this new exciting company. This global launch leverages our strengths and global breadth as the biggest brewer in the world to deliver a proposition that lives up to being the best in the world.”

InBev’s Chief Commercial Officer, Brent Willis said, “At the heart of everything we do as a company is the consumer, and this launch epitomizes that approach. Consumers around the world may not be waiting for another beer, but we know that they all need a bit of Ginga!”

Brahma® (4.8% ABV) will be available in outlets as early as April, and will be rolling-out to markets around the world throughout 2005. The brand will be marketed with a range of communication materials including music CDs, television advertising in multiple languages and styles, expansive display and point-of-connection materials, print, outdoor, Internet, and other relevant consumer-connection mediums.

“Rather than just a new brand, Brahma® brings an entirely new experience and an exciting new attitude to the category. Its taste is light and refreshing, and has a clean and crisp finish with a papaya after-note. The curved bottle with embossed Brahma® lettering gently and ergonomically fits into consumers’ hands. The design exudes modernity, sophistication, and creativity and the “Rio-Flash” color of the Brahma® brand block exudes all the passion and excitement wrapped up in Brazil, while respecting Brahma®’s roots which trace back to 1888.”

Brazil is currently gaining increasing interest around the world, and at just the right time Brahma® offers a taste of Brazilian culture —a culture where people approach life with effortless flair or, as Brazilians say, ‘ginga’ (pronounced ‘jinga’). Ginga is an attitude and lifestyle which is all about having an optimistic and creative approach to life. It is in the way Brazilians walk, the way they move, the way they play football, and in everything they do… and now it is in Brahma®.

To deliver Brazil to the world, Brahma® teamed up with Brahma® Ambassadors, a collective of Brazil’s most inspirational creative talents. They include: André Szajman and João Marcello Bôscoli, Founders of Trama, the largest independent record label of Brasil; Emanuela Carvalho, Fashion Stylist, Journalist & Lecturer and Speto, an exciting artist within the Brasilian contemporary art scene.

InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: INB) based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume. InBev’s strategy is to strengthen its local platforms by building significant positions in the world's major beer markets through organic growth, world-class efficiency, targeted acquisitions, and by putting consumers first. InBev has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois®, BRAHMA®, Beck’s®, Skol®—the third-largest selling beer brand in the world—Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Staropramen® and Bass®. InBev employs some 77,000 people, running operations in over 30 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2004, InBev realized a net turnover of 8.57 billion euro (including four months of AmBev).


23 March, 2005