Fruit beers spice up SABMiller

LONDON – Fruit-flavoured beers along with non-alcoholic and light beers are being launched in eastern Europe by beer giant SABMiller Plc to refresh beer markets slipping below previous high growth rates.

The world’s number two brewer, which brews Castle, Miller Lite and Peroni beers, brought Redd’s fruit-flavoured beer from its homeland of South Africa into Poland in 1997 and then into Russia where it has seen especially strong growth. Redd’s first appeared in Europe as an apple-flavoured beer but was quickly followed by raspberry, lemon, peach and now even coffee and cola, which has helped to offset the slowing of beer industry growth in eastern Europe in recent years.”Fruit beers have gained not just from female consumption, but also from those drinkers that like variety and have the willingness to experiment,” said Alan Clark, managing director of SABMiller Europe in a briefing at the group’s European headquarters in Budapest earlier this week.Redd’s volumes were up 22 per cent last year in Europe, and in Poland some 82 per cent of the beer was drunk by women.Nampa-ReutersRedd’s first appeared in Europe as an apple-flavoured beer but was quickly followed by raspberry, lemon, peach and now even coffee and cola, which has helped to offset the slowing of beer industry growth in eastern Europe in recent years.”Fruit beers have gained not just from female consumption, but also from those drinkers that like variety and have the willingness to experiment,” said Alan Clark, managing director of SABMiller Europe in a briefing at the group’s European headquarters in Budapest earlier this week.Redd’s volumes were up 22 per cent last year in Europe, and in Poland some 82 per cent of the beer was drunk by women.Nampa-Reuters