E-Malt.com News article: Russia: Carlsberg planning to launch its pricey Jacobsen beer in Russia in a while

Carlsberg A/S plans to launch its pricey Jacobsen beer label in Russia within a matter of weeks, a move that could inject momentum into a market that has been under pressure and represents a large portion of the Danish brewer's sales, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 16.

"We will be starting offering Jacobsen in Russia in a few weeks," said Morten Ibsen, the Jacobsen Brewery's brewmaster in Denmark. Jacobsen, which is priced higher than Carlsberg's other brands, is sold in Scandinavia and Israel.

Russian sales of the Jacobsen brand are initially planned for Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company has recently said the crisis in Ukraine hasn't affected its Russian business, where it is the market leader and has multiple brewing facilities.

The launch of Jacobsen, while not expected to provide a big boost to overall revenue in Russia, will provide an indication of Carlsberg's ability to take its product offerings upmarket amid tough economic conditions.

"It is a niche beer, but if sales go well it will go really well," Mr. Ibsen said. He said certain Western products can reach cult status in Russia, and then see high demand even if they are much more expensive than their peers.

Carlsberg's upscale Jacobsen brand was created in 2005 as a way to offer a more specialty line of beers. Brewed at a microbrewery near Copenhagen, the lineup includes a dark lager, brown ale, pilsner and seasonal offerings.

Named after the brewery's founder, Jacobsen usually runs with a price tag of more than €7 ($9.18) per litre. To date, it has represented a small portion of Carlsberg's overall output. The company had launched Jacobsen in the U.K. and Iceland in 2006, but withdrew the brands a few years later.

Russia is a critical market for Carlsberg, and its performance there has been pressured by economic conditions and regulatory changes.

In a bid to offset slowing growth in the West, Carlsberg made a big bet on Eastern Europe in 2008 when it bought the 50% it didn't already own in Baltika Breweries, the market leader in Russia. However, recently introduced restrictions on advertisements and sales from street-side kiosks have crimped growth.

Carlsberg said in February that in the last three months of 2013 the Russian beer market declined 7%, while Carlsberg's volume market share was flat.


18 April, 2014