SABMILLER ZOOMS IN ON CRAFT

NO DOUBT about it, the craft brewing industry has caught the attention of Big Beer. SABMiller is making an strong effort to ramp up its share of the US premium beer market, where it has been caught off guard by the explosion of local high-priced craft beers. Chief Executive Alan Clark said that the producer of Miller Lite, Foster’s and Peroni is aiming for a market share “well north” of 2O percent of the value of US premium beer market, from 14 percent currently. “We’ve got to shift our portfolio to premium. That’s clearly a priority that the team now understand and are working on it,” he said of the burst in activity within MillerCoors,the group’s US joint venture. While one-third of beer volumes sold in the US is of premium beer, that category accounted for only 8 percent of SABMiller’s sales. Over the past 18 months, the group has launched a range of new varieties and brands, including Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Batch 19, Third Shift, and Blue Moon seasonal beers, in addition to acquiring Crispin Cider as a super-premium cider. Brewers are facing a slow decline in mature markets, such as the US and Europe where beer sales have been losing out to soft drinks and bottled water. Critics say this is partly because the big brewers have not been creative enough, leaving local craft brewers to step into the vacuum and take 12 percent of the market. “Let’s take the criticism – that the scale brewers have been slow to innovate and to bring exciting, fresh and new brews. That’s probably correct,” said Clark. “The reality, though, is we’ve recognized that and we’re moving very quickly.” But there’s a distinct line between bone fide craft and craft-style beers and the Brewers Association has criticized multinational brewers, claiming they seek “to blur the lines between their crafty, craft-like beers and true craft beers from today’s small and independent brewers”. Well, they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!