Anheuser-Busch InBev Targets Super-Premium in China With Stella Artois Roll-Out

BROMSGROVE, England, June 30, 2011 -

Anheuser-Busch InBev has lined up a push for Stella Artois in
China as it looks to up the presence of its global beer brands in
the country.

Stella Artois, which has had “a small presence” in China “for
some time now”, has been rolled out recently in the cities of
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the company has confirmed to
just-drinks. Stella Artois follows its sister brand, Budweiser,
into the market as A-B InBev focuses on super-premium opportunities
in China.

href="www.just-drinks.com/hot-issues/the-wehring-interview-june-2011-anheuser-busch-inbevs-cmo_id690.aspx">
In an exclusive interview with just-drinks this month, A-B InBev’s
CMO, Chris Burggraeve, detailed the brewer’s approach in the
emerging market. “(In China) we have a portfolio approach, whereby
we focus on three key brands, Burggraeve said. “Budweiser leads the
premium segment, which was developed from scratch over the last ten
years and is growing twice as fast as the overall beer category in
China, (which is) already the biggest beer market in the world.

“We also focus on Harbin, a local brand from the north, which is
the oldest beer brand in China,” he said. “With Harbin, we’re
looking to build it into a national brand. That will take time, but
things move much faster in China than they ever did in the US and
Europe. Finally, in the south, we have Sedrin. That’s the regional
powerhouse that we will keep regional in that area.”

Burggraeve added that the roll-out of Stella Artois will be very
concentrated. “You’ll see Stella Artois (in very selected places)
in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou,” he said. “In these cities, you
have a group of consumers who are looking for super-premium. We
trialled the brand at last year’s Expo in Shanghai - more than 70m
people went to Expo over six months! So, there is a clear demand in
China for super-premium and for a global brand that delivers
that.”

Also in the interview, Burggraeve discusses the challenge of
making - and maintaining - a global beer brand, counters the charge
of cost-cutting regularly levelled at the company, and highlights
A-B InBev’s CSR efforts as it has made the move from big brewer to
become the biggest.

Read the full interview here: href="www.just-drinks.com/hot-issues/the-wehring-interview-june-2011-anheuser-busch-inbevs-cmo_id690.aspx">
www.just-drinks.com/hot-issues/the-wehring-interview-june-2011-anheuser-busch-inbevs-cmo_id690.aspx

The interview is available for full members of just-drinks.com
only. To gain access to this interview along with beverage industry
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Contact: Chris Boaz, chris.boaz at aroq.com, +44(0)1527-573-600