Budweiser is premium beer sales of Heineken

The traditional Budweiser, Ambev's brand and the most popular beer in the United States, was released as a premium brand in Brazil in August 2011. In 16 months accounted for 13.1% of premium beers segment, surpassing Heineken, who took 11%, according to data from Nielsen, in November. Also surpassed the Original, another brand of Ambev's premium portfolio, with a share of 12.8%.
The rapid assimilation of the brand is behind the distribution strength of Ambev, with exclusive focus on urban centres, and a few million applied on a platform based on marketing "cosmopolitan". It combines the sponsorship the music shows with international names like Madonna, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, and the sport, which is the sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and uses his Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, as brand Ambassador.
"The next step is to continue consolidating Budweiser at the head of the consumer as an international brand of success", says the Director of Ambev's premium brands, Sergio Edwards. The Ambev's brands, however, are not at risk. "Consumers are accustomed to domestic brands. The fact of having Bud [portfolio] does not mean that Brahma is not important ".
To help sell the beer in the summer, went live in December a TV commercial, created by the Agency, with the American singer William James Adams, known as Will.i.am, leader of the band Black Eyed Peas, which combines beer and music. Until the end of July, Ambev to announce the project Budweiser House of Music aimed at poor communities in Rio. "Should be a laboratory for training talents in different musical genres and also in the production area, to promote innovation and transformation through music," says marketing manager for Budweiser, Manuel Rangel.
Young audience who likes international music also is the target of the Heineken brand in Brazil, which sponsors the Lollapalooza festival, plus 100 major festivals around the world. "The two are in the same category and vie for the same consumer, although Budweiser has a lower price positioning," says Adalberto Viviane, consultant specializing in beverages. "The young Brazilians have Nike, Coca-Cola, but do not have a world brand of beer; and the dispute is there ".
Heineken denies the comparison because I think there are differences between the ingredients, the method of production and also the price between the two brands. "The Heineken Beer is considered premium for being a pure malt beer and have a maturation process of more than 30 days," says the Director of communication of Heineken Brazil, Renata Zveibel.
The premium category has more than 60 brands and represents 4.7% of the total beer market, which produced 13 billion litres and grossed $ 62 billion in 2011. The highest price between premium brands. In November, according to data from Nielsen, the price of Budweiser was 14% above the average of common and beers from Heineken, 37% above. In the last week of 2012, the pine shop Pão de Açúcar supermarket displayed several premium beer promotions. A can (350 ml) of Budweiser cost $ 2.09 and the same pack of Heineken, $ 2.29-a variation of 9.57%.
According to beer sommelier David Aguilar, the raw materials and the production process of the two brands are distinct. Heineken matura at least twice as much time in the tanks. Budweiser takes about 40% of rice in its composition-this is the former Assistant of German purity law of 1516, which stipulated that only water, malt and hops were accepted ingredients in the production of beer. Heineken is a pure malt barley, without adjuncts brewers. The deputies help in cost reduction, since the barley malt is an ingredient more expensive than corn, for example. "Taste, in both, it's harmless, round, subtle, although Heineken has more pronounced bitterness".
In other countries, the share of premium beers is greater. In the United Kingdom is 40 percent in the United States 20%, and 10% Argentina. For executives of Budweiser in Brazil, the slogan of the mark could not be more appropriate to the moment: "great times are coming".