This brand new report on the premium sector of the beer market is the latest in an occasional series of reports on interesting and key aspects of the beverage industry.

The development of premium and superpremium beers is not a modern phenomenon; in developed markets, premium beers have been around since the 1980s.

The aim of this report is not to chart the history of premium beers but instead provide a very up-to-date and refreshing take on the most recent developments in the global premium beer market.

The beer industry is fragmented between regional markets which, largely depending upon on their economic stage of development, display different characteristics. Beer consumption worldwide is still increasing, especially in Asian, East European and South American markets, whilst in more developed regions such as West Europe, it is stagnating.

One trend however is more consistent globally. The popularity of premium and superpremium beers continues unabated and shows no sign of slowing down. True, markets such as the German market are showing signs of long-term decline, but these are very rare.

The early sections of the report provide details of the sales of premium and superpremium beers on a regional basis, before looking at the key growth markets.

The report then looks at some of the world's largest beer companies, such as Anheuser Busch, InBev and SABMiller among others, and examines their beer portfolios over the past 5 years, to help better understand the strategies they have adopted with their premium and superpremium brands.

This is then taken further in the final section of the report which provides case studies of 5 leading brands in this sector, including Corona Extra, Stella Artois and Leffe. The case studies examine the development of each brand, and analysis of the key reasons behind their success.

This report is essential reading for any executives looking to better understand the development, trends and issues of one of the key drivers of the beer industry over recent years.