Molson Coors Beverage Company will rebrand Coors Light to Coors from March 2021 as part of a multimillion-pound investment in the UK to drive ongoing growth in the premium 4% beer category. It will be supported by new packaging and point-of-sale material for licensees, along with new glassware and dispense assets introduced into every outlet by the end of 2021.
The move will also provide a platform to expand the Coors family in the UK, with the launch of new products including Coors Original next year.
The multimillion-pound investment will build on the success of the “Keep it Fresh” campaign, which celebrates the brand’s Rocky Mountain heritage.
Sophie Jamieson, Marketing Controller for the Coors Family of Brands at Molson Coors said, “Having reflected on the unique strengths of the brand, we saw an opportunity to maximise its potential. Our testing has shown that consumers love the new branding, finding it more distinctive and appealing, and by changing to simply ‘Coors’ we can build further momentum in the premium 4% beer category, while continuing to champion our refreshing great taste which is a clear point of difference for consumers.
“It also gives us the opportunity to introduce some incredibly exciting new products from the Coors family, starting with Coors Original later in the year. Our ambition is not only to propel Coors into the UK’s Top 5 beers, which is why we’ve put significant spend behind the brand, but also to continue to scale our presence and expand our portfolio throughout what looks to be a very exciting year in 2021.”
This summer, Birra Moretti was once again the official partner of Summer Nights at the Kelvingrove Bandstand. With a stunning line-up of entertainment on throughout the two-week festival, visitors were able to enjoy great quality beer and cider from HEINEKEN, with a standout Birra Moretti bar experience.
Gerry White, from Regular Music, said: “Summer Nights is the Bandstand’s Flagship event of the year. There’s fourteen consecutive nights every August, with sell out shows. This year featured artists including Tom Jones, Texas, Brian Wilson, The Pixies and Hipsway, playing in the heart of Glasgow’s West End. It was important to us that this high profile premier event had a premium beer partner and in Birra Moretti we’ve found the perfect fit.”
The brand, which is in fantastic growth in Scotland (+ 91% value and 99% volume MAT YoY1), served 31,680 pints across the festival. All 30,000 visitors to the Kelvingrove Bandstand were able to enjoy a perfectly served pint of Birra Moretti, while having an amazing experience and some delicious street food.
HEINEKEN used the brand’s sponsorship to support customers in the local area, focusing on driving footfall into outlet and helping to increase volume sales through competition and event activations. Colin Barr, creator at Bierhalle, commented: “Ahead of the Summer Nights festival, we worked closely with HEINEKEN, and specifically the Birra Moretti team, to run a competition for our customers to win tickets for the opening show to see Texas perform. We also installed a Birra Moretti mobile bar in the outdoor terrace, which allowed us to serve extra cold pints of Birra Moretti from a secondary bar. The results were fantastic – with over 700 pints of Birra Moretti sold in a few hours – and brilliant feedback from our customers who all enjoyed a great pint. All the support from HEINEKEN and Birra Moretti has been wonderful, helping me drive my business forward and bringing something new to my customers. I look forward to working with them closely in the future.”
John Hutchison, Regional Sales Director West and Central Scotland at HEINEKEN, explained: “Summer Nights is fast becoming a West End institution and we are honoured that Birra Moretti is heavily involved with Summer Nights at the festival, as it allows us to delight consumers over 14 nights with perfectly served Birra Moretti. The festival also allows us to engage heavily with our On-Trade customers and consumers, offering VIP experiences for shows that sell out in minutes.
“Through festival sponsorships such as this, we are raising awareness of the brand in Scotland and seeing fantastic results with both volume and value growth. Last year, Birra Moretti added 2.6KhL to the Scottish On-Trade2, far outperforming its closest competitor. Our advice is to stock Birra Moretti alongside a Classic Lager brand, to encourage your customers to trade up. Trading customers up from Classic Lager to Birra Moretti means you can charge a 32% premium for a pint3. If you’re interested in finding out more about stocking Birra Moretti in your outlet, do get in touch with your local sales rep or call 03458 787071.”
Tennent’s is continuing to perform well in the Scottish independent on-trade with total branded volumes increasing by 7%, according to the latest interim Management Statement covering the period from 1 March 2013 to the 31st May issued by owners C&C Group. However Tennent’s UK volumes saw a decline of 12.4% with revenues down 6.1%.
Stephen Glancey, C&C Group CEO, commented, “Our Tennent’s business has again performed well and provides a degree of balance to a competitive UK cider market.”
The report revealed that “Cider UK, Q1 volumes declined in both Magners and Gaymers brands with over 85% of the volume loss driven by the off-trade channel which remains intensely competitive. Magners volumes declined nearly 20% while Gaymers saw a decline of 25%.”
The Group forecasts operating profit for the 2014 financial year to be in the range of €125m to €132m. The expected outcome represents year-on-year earnings growth of between 10% and 16%.
Glancy continued, “We remain focused on developing our multi-beverage capability in core markets and investing in customers through our trade lending model.”
