CANADEAN'S 6TH INTERNATIONAL BEER STRATEGY CONFERENCE
Delivering Value: Profitable Growth in a Challenging World
24th – 25th April 2008 HOTEL PUERTA AMÉRICA MADRID
There have been many dramatic changes in the international beer industry since Canadean’s first international beer conference in 1998. Leading companies, such as InBev and SABMiller were yet to be created and the world’s largest 10 brewing groups accounted for 35% of worldwide beer volume. Ten years later and just four international brewers, InBev; Anheuser-Busch; SABMiller and Heineken account for the same share. The ranking of the world’s leading brewing groups, once dominated by brewers from Europe and the Americas, now includes Chinese companies such as China Resources; Yanjing and Tsingtao. In 1998 the USA was the world’s largest beer market, a position that was claimed by China in 2002. Growth of the Russian beer market has also been dramatic, with beer consumption having trebled since 1998.
Against this background, Canadean’s 6th International Beer Conference offered delegates the ideal opportunity to learn more about current issues and trends and the chance to debate these issues with other industry leaders and experts.
The conference included:
- Full one and a half day programme of presentations from all parts of the industry, with time set aside at the end of each session for panel discussions and interaction between speakers and delegates
- An informal "drop-in" evening drinks reception the evening beforel, hosted by Brewers’ Guardian
- Evening drinks reception following the first day of the conference
- Copies of all speeches and presentations (where permission given) sent on CD a few days later
Who attended?
The conference was attended by senior executives connected with the global beer industry. As well as delegates from brewers and importers, this conference is of interest to many involved in the international beer market and delegates also attended from packaging companies, suppliers, equity analysts and consultancy practices.
Conference Write Up
Delegates from all of the world’s leading brewers attended Canadean’s International Beer Strategy Conference, held in Madrid at the end of April. An exceptionally strong line-up of speakers discussed the challenges presented by a rising costs and a rapidly consolidating industry, and the opportunities provided by product development and packaging innovation. Alex Myers, Senior VP Western Europe for Carlsberg gave a fascinating, and very timely keynote presentation on Carlsberg’s journey from being a regional Scandinavian brewer to becoming, following the joint acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle, one of the World’s “Big 5” global brewers.
Maurice Breen, Marketing Director at C&C group presented a case study of the Magners brand from its rural Irish roots, through the phenomenal success seen in the UK market, to the continuing roll-out of the brand in selected international markets. Michael Bartholl, Managing Director of Paulaner Brauerei looked at the success of Wheat Beer, while Steve Perez, Managing Director of Global Brands talked about his journey from delivering beer from the back of a van to running a £65m drinks business.
One of biggest challenges facing the industry at the present time is the rising cost of raw materials. This topic was addressed by Stèphane Lefort, Commercial Manager Europe for Cargill Malt and Stephan Barth, Managing Director of hop producers, Joh Barth & Sohn. Competition for land from greater demand for food, due to the world's burgeoning population, and increasingly from biofuels, has led to large decreases in acreage and consequent increases in prices. Brewers increasingly need to view malt and hops as strategic raw materials and not as agricultural commodities. Kaye Coleman, Director of consultancy Ripe Strategic, looked at how brewers could use pricing to develop their marketing and portfolio strategies.
Beer fulfils much more of a refreshment role in Hispanic markets, than In many markets, meaning that the dynamics between beer and soft drinks are different. Alberto da Ponte, Managing Director of Centralcer in Portugal looked at the Portuguese beverage market and in particular Centralcer's position in both the beer and soft drinks sectors. Jacobo Olalla, Director General of Spanish brewers association, Cerveceros de España presented a wealth of facts and figures about the beer market in Spain, while Javier Artiach from Canadean, looked at the state of the industry in Latin America.
The importance of beer packaging was highlighted by three speakers in a lively session on packaging. Steven Howell, Breakthrough Innovation Manager at Rexam BevCan, who looked at a number of exiting developments in cans and focused on Rexam’s new "Fusion"’ aluminium bottle; Mark Hamnett, Head of Corporate Business Development at SIG Beverages, gave a bullish overview of the potential for beer in PET; while Alies Gonlag, Global Industry Manager at Holland Colours, looked at the role of colour in improving shelf-life and attracting consumers.
The conference closed with a look at three examples of excellence in the brewing industry. Alejandro Jimenez, CRO of Efes International, mirrored Alex Myers opening presentation by looking at the growth of Efes from a virtually unknown Turkish brewer to becoming the leading brewer in the Eurasian region. Anheuser-Busch's Richard Robertson looked at Budweiser's international growth and Nigel McNally, Managing Director of Well's and Young’s Brewing Company looked at the transformation of Charles Wells from a small local brewer to becoming a brand-led, innovative company with a wide portfolio of traditional and contemporary products.
Over 100 delegates and speakers took part in the conference which provided an ideal forum for senior executives to meet their industry colleagues and discuss the issues facing the industry.
Copies of the speeches and presentations from the seminar are available on CD-ROM, priced at £350.
For further information contact Canadean's Beer Service, 12 Faraday Court, Rankine Road, Daneshill, Basingstoke, Hants, RG24 8PF, UK, tel 44 (0)1256 394218.