The Global Branding of Stella Artois

Brand plays a key role in the beer-purchasing process, along with taste, price, special occasion,

Interbrew had developed into the world's fourth largest brewer by acquiring and managing a large portfolio of national and regional beer brands in markets around the world. More recently, senior management had decided to develop one of their premium beers, Stella Artois, as a global brand. This case examines the early stages of Interbrew's global branding strategy and tactics, enabling students to consider these concepts in the context of a fragmented but consolidating industry.

     In this paper I will be talking about the U.S. beer industry and in short an overview of the brewing industry worldwide. I will talk about the barriers to entry, economies of scale, government intervention, pricing, current market trends, product differentiation, and imports. The focus being mainly on the U.S. brewing industry oligopoly. The U.S. brewing industry has three major players: Anheuser-Busch, SAB Miller, and Coors/Molson. Anheuser-Busch is currently the largest brewer in the world, producing over 100 million barrels a year. Anheuser-Busch currently owns over 50% of the market in the United States, with Miller trailing behind at 20% and Coors at about 11% with the rest of the market occupied by imports and craft breweries. When analyzing any industry, how easy it is for newcomers to enter the market is a great importance. If there are high barriers to entry

In a world where large, corporate breweries rule the market, craft beer is created to please an audience that applauds the styles, techniques and flavors. Though craft beer can be purchased through several different outlets, the best place to thoroughly enjoy the entire experience of the specially made beer is in the brewery where it was made. The article titled, “In Lean Times, a Stout Dream” in The Wall Street Journal1 states that, despite the hard economic times and consequent consumer cutbacks, sales of craft beer, the industry 's fastest-growing segment, rose

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze Sam Adams and the global craft beer market. I will apply microeconomic models to analyze the supply and demand conditions for Sam Adams, its price elasticity of demand for products, cost of production and the overall market. There will be recommendations to maximize future profits and sustain success for Sam Adams. In this paper I will also analyze the craft beer industry and recommend actions for better management of supply and demand, improving the cost of production and the different barriers of entry that Sam Adams can utilize to impact its future in the craft beer industry. Applying the concepts of variable and fixed costs, I will make recommendations for its output decisions and profitability that will help them succeed in a monopolistically competitive market structure. In the conclusion of this paper I will make recommendations to manage future production and sustain its success, as well as evaluate the business structure and effective decision-making strategies. The craft beer industry is a monopolistic competition because it has the ability to allow many firms to produce similar good or services, but it at the same time allows each firm to make independent production decisions and differentiate their product from the competition by creating its own pricing.

SABMiller and Diageo are two largest beer producer in Africa. ”SABMiller, if combined with its partnership with France's Castel Group, sells roughly 60% Africa’s beer by volume. Diageo’s also expands its operation successfully that Senator Keg, its supercheap beer, is also now number two most popular beers in Kenya. As these giant brewers monopolized Africa’s beer market, it can be said that the market has an oligopoly market structure, and both pursue identic operations, so the market can be labeled as competitive. The interdependence that is happening between both brewers makes the competition happens. As SABMiller produces Impala that is half price from its previous beer Manica, Diageo produces Senator Keg to balance it. Diageo

Molson Coors is a thriving international brewing company that has nine Signature Brew drinks and 123 Special Brew drinks that ranges from non-alcoholic to alcoholic (Molson Coors Brewing Company, 2016b). They have multiple markets around the world which contributes to the success of the company in the brewing industry. This report analyzes Molson Coors’ internal and external environments which determines their position in the brewing industry. It also discusses strategies the company uses in order to be successful in their industry. Molson Coors shares the industry with its main competitors but has its own uniqueness that makes its business stand out. Molson Coors is a successful business that presents opportunities for economic growth.

iii. Import beer companies: These companies include Beck’s(Germany), Heineken (Holland) and Corona (Mexico). They control about 12% of the region’s market. However, these companies are seen to operate at disadvantage due to higher shipping costs, weaker distribution networks and an inability to control product freshness

Within the craft beer market, consumers have many products to chose. A product is anything offered within a market that which fulfills a want or need (Armstrong & Kotler, 2015). In 2012, over 1,750 breweries operated in the United States (U.S.), with over 1,920 the following year (Brewers,

The situation can even explode for Export Brands International, as large beers conglomerates with tremendous power, are targeting the same segment and are creating similar beers. We have the real example of Anheuser-Busch new Bud Light Lime which was selling extremely well in the United States attacking Corona position and following the traces of the

Interbrew can use a transnational strategy in this sense, as it can cater towards local demands to ensure they are getting the sales over their substitutes. This involves providing the local residents with their favourite brand that they are used to, along with promoting their global brand, Stella Artois, to those markets that have an increase in the demand for premium beer.

As the world’s largest brewer, AB Inbev has the ability to compete in new and foreign markets as a strong threat. Due to their enormous capital and expansion-based strategy, they can enter any market as a challenger and shutdown competition to become the leading brewer in this market. As an aggregated note we can also see this in domestic or already dominated markets because due to economics of scale they can achieve differentiated products at a low cost.

Starbucks’ lead in the specialty coffee industry exemplifies the result of deftly executing a well-planned business strategy. Moreover, Starbucks is well positioned for what is expected to be a continuing rise in the popularity of specialty coffee products. The question before Starbucks’ leadership, however, is what avenues will lead to Starbucks’ goal of remaining true to its core, the highest quality coffee products while providing a “total coffee experience” for its customers?

Stella Artois, informally called Stella, is a pilsner beer between 4.8 and 5.2% ABV. It is a beer brand from Belgium and it also brewed in other locations. Stella Artois is one of the prominent brands of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer. Stella Artois has its own Pouring Ritual and iconic serving chalice and it is savoured in 95 countries as a complement to elegant events and fine dining (ABInBev, 2014). The first point will be discussed is Stella Artois’ s market entry strategy. As same as other international companies, Stella Artois also uses acquisition strategy to expand its market. As InBev attempted to maximise its product portfolio by launching its leading brands into new markets, Stella Artois was launched as a premium product in Latin America (Passport, 2005). China is the key focus of Stella Artois’s efforts to generate growth. The 2014 acquisition helped the company make the fastest growing top 10 player in the market (ABInBev, 2015). The acquisition also served to strengthen its position in economy larger and enhanced the company’s production and distribution infrastructure in the market. The second point being analyzed is Stella Artois’s marketing strategy. First of all, the packaging strategy of Stella Artois will be analysed. The packaging of Stella Artois has evolved over time. However, the mandate on the design has not change. All packaging must be supreme quality and worth (Stella Artois, 2004). Stella Artois packaging always exclusive

Although sales of premium brands have fallen in a steady response to the growing popularity of the craft beer. The industry revenue has been stable over the past 5 years. As a result, from 2011 to 2016 the industry revenue is expected an increase and growth annually at 6.7 percent over the five years,with a total of $39.5 billion . (IBISWorld iExpert) In the long-term, these numbers are expected that grow 0.9 percent annually within the next five years. The potential growth will be seen in the traditional and premium beer sector. As a response, the giant companies in the industry Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors look forward into the merges and acquisitions as a strategy to maintain market dominance. The strategy is based on the