The new beer giant Anheuser Busch InBev has decided to sell the Grolsch and Peroni beer brands in order to gain European anti-trust approval.
This decision is in line with the group’s aim to have mass brands for the world market, especially in growing economies, but could in the end provide a better future to the two “local” brands in a mature European market.
Much will depend on the buyers, or buyer, and whether it will be a financial owner or another beer group – Heineken NV would be unlikely due to its size while Carlsberg has other more urgent worries than acquisitions.
But both brands, especially Grolsch, have a better market future as a premium craft beer than yet another brand in a big group. While SABMillerhad more marketing power and a distribution reach than Grolsch on its own, the Dutch brand was not really spoiled by the big owner.
Grolsch was founded in 1615 in the east of the Netherlands and remained independent until 2011 when it struck a joint-venture deal with Bass of Britain and later became a unit of Bass, which was absorbed into Interbrew.
But the financial logic of larger brewing groups, to grow market access and reduce unit costs, went against consumer preferences for recognizable special beers.
The rise of micro breweries in the past decade has underlined that contrast between a yearning for smaller brands and the increasing homogenization of pilsner beers.
Groslch back on its own and Peroni in Italy may in fact have a better chance given the current consumer preferences. Cheers!
Bottles of beer and cider produced by Belgian-Brazilian group Anheuser-Busch InBev, (Budweiser, Corona, Stella and Beck’s) and British brewer SABMiller (Bulmers and Peroni) are pictured in London, on October 13, 2015. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)