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And the ‘Beers’ Return
- By Ikem Okuhu
- Published September 13th, 2010
- BrandWorld
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And the ‘Beers’ Return
The Nigerian market has had, its fair share of beer brands that looked like they shrivelled in the face of bad economic climate. A number of them are returning and with ambition to shake to market leaders, writes IKEM OKUHU
THE “stars” might dim and “harp” might be on its way to losing some of its fine tunes as competition for space in the market place pitches leading beer brands in Nigeria against returnees, who themselves think that cutting a whole in the marketshare of established brands for themselves is something doable.
With what is going on in the Nigerian beer market, the brands that have constituted themselves into virtual monopolies may be on the way to recalibrating their market control maps because as far as the new school of competition is concerned, it is fight to finish.
The list is growing long by the day as old brands are staging a bold comeback onto the big stage. The competition that is about to rage in the Nigerian beer market is not entirely new. Most of the brands that are making forays presently have been here previously and were only knocked out by the superior marketing power of the big two breweries – Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria Plc. As a matter of fact, beer fans in the country nostalgically recall the old days when there were sundry brands attending to the needs, tastes and income levels of various market segments.
Those days there were the likes of Star, Gulder, Guinness Stout, Harp Beer, Golden Guinea, Premier Lager, Life Beer, Skol Beer, Kronenbourg, 33 Export, Monarch Lager, among many others. Of all these, there were only two premium brands attending to the top market drinkers. These were Star and Harp. They cost slightly more and attracted status attention for those that can afford them. In fact those days when all the beer bottles looked alike, there were folks that would buy a bottle of other brands, remove the labels and pose in beer parlour like they were drinking the “elite” brands.
Perhaps this was the smaller brands undoing as changes in the shapes of beer bottles denied them of the chance and opportunity to “pose” as the street lingo goes. And so the smaller brands began a slow disappearance. Those that survived remained regional brands that focused on markets away from city centres where income was low and people bought only those brands that are cheap.
But this is about to change. And if you look at the market, you would see a number of relatively unknown brands fighting at the national marketplace for a share of the excitement.
Of these new entrants, the one that appears to have the biggest muscle is 33 Export Lager beer which has been around since the late 70s but in the past few years has been making a lot of noises in the market.
33 Export is rumoured to be driven by Eze Festus Odimegwu, former Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries. Odimegwu was the man that spearheaded the merciless growth and dominance of the brands on Nigeria Breweries stable and applied several events and reality shows to drive Star and Gulder to levels of national market leadership. If it is his Midas touch that is working up 33 Export, then Star and Harp had better watch out. The brand is gaining wide acceptance, what with recent marketing activity.
According to its Regional Manager, Western Operations, Adejare Yusuf “The successful quality upgrade and re-launch of “33” export in 2006 started an amazing rise in market share for three consecutive years and the momentum has not stopped. 33” Export is now the third largest lager brand in the country.
Although it is still priced slightly lower than the leading brands, Yusuf thinks Nigerian consumers are smartly accepting the fact that high quality brands offered at a low price, does translate to higher value for money. “This has been a key strategic pillar for Consolidated Breweries Plc, as a Company, to offer high quality products, brewed under strict international standards and controls, offer them at a low price to hardworking Nigerians who expect to get good value for every naira they spend.”
The other brands that are kicking up a lot of dust are Kronenbourg and Goldberg beer brands. Kronenbourg, marketed by International Breweries Plc is giving itself a fighting chance for a share of the national market. International Breweries in 2008 aligned with a foreign franchise and also went to the capital market same year to raise money that it is presently spending on making the brand to of request for consumers. On its part, Goldberg, driven by Sona Breweries. Sona is working with a number of breweries scattered all over the country, a factor that gives it leverage in marketing and distribution. Its Goldberg brand is also doing its best to give Star and Harp the scare that could recalibrate marketing budgets. But can these “new comers” effectively challenge the leaders? That is the question time and consumers would answer in the coming years. As it is presently, Star and Harp are still sitting pretty. Star was introduced into the Nigerian market on June 2, 1949. Creating the first indigenously brewed beer in a market that was dominated exclusively by imported brands. Shortly after its entry into the market, Star overcame the challenges associated with a new brand in a market already used to imported beer and started on a path of tremendous growth. The brand attained market leadership in 1960, with sales of about 2,191,376 crates in 1962 and by 1975, the figure had risen to 11,266,000 crates. Star claims it is largely responsible for the growth of the Nigerian indigenous beer industry as the success story of this icon has influenced the introduction of other successful brands. As at 2003, the sales figures were already in the region of 40 million crates for that year alone. In 2007, sales for the brand rose tremendously to over 49 million crates, which has made Star one of West Africa’s leading beer brands, selling more than 3 million hectoliters annually in Nigeria alone.
Of all the beer brands in Nigeria, Star is the hugest advertiser. From the very first campaign slogan of “Ah! Star – Beer at its best” introduced in 1949 to the “Brightness” campaign in the 1970s and 80s, the “Turn to Star – the ideal Brew” campaign launched in 1989, to the “Live the Brighter Life In Style – Star Ahead on Taste” campaign in the 1990s, to the recent campaigns of “Never a Dull Moment with Star” to “Share the Brighter Life” and currently “Star Connects” – the brand has been able to stay ahead of competition.
But it is being challenged heavily by the Guinness brands that recently knocked Star of the leadership status at least in the Lagos market. Harp lost to Star some years ago but of recent was relaunched and has been inching up the charts nationally so much so that in certain segments of the market, it has been upstaging Star.
As the list keeps growing, the market is looking out for the one from the new school that could come from behind to shake the leaders. That would be a phenomenon brand historians would love to see in this generation.
The Nigerian market has had, its fair share of beer brands that looked like they shrivelled in the face of bad economic climate. A number of them are returning and with ambition to shake to market leaders, writes IKEM OKUHU
THE “stars” might dim and “harp” might be on its way to losing some of its fine tunes as competition for space in the market place pitches leading beer brands in Nigeria against returnees, who themselves think that cutting a whole in the marketshare of established brands for themselves is something doable.
With what is going on in the Nigerian beer market, the brands that have constituted themselves into virtual monopolies may be on the way to recalibrating their market control maps because as far as the new school of competition is concerned, it is fight to finish.
The list is growing long by the day as old brands are staging a bold comeback onto the big stage. The competition that is about to rage in the Nigerian beer market is not entirely new. Most of the brands that are making forays presently have been here previously and were only knocked out by the superior marketing power of the big two breweries – Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria Plc. As a matter of fact, beer fans in the country nostalgically recall the old days when there were sundry brands attending to the needs, tastes and income levels of various market segments.
Those days there were the likes of Star, Gulder, Guinness Stout, Harp Beer, Golden Guinea, Premier Lager, Life Beer, Skol Beer, Kronenbourg, 33 Export, Monarch Lager, among many others. Of all these, there were only two premium brands attending to the top market drinkers. These were Star and Harp. They cost slightly more and attracted status attention for those that can afford them. In fact those days when all the beer bottles looked alike, there were folks that would buy a bottle of other brands, remove the labels and pose in beer parlour like they were drinking the “elite” brands.
Perhaps this was the smaller brands undoing as changes in the shapes of beer bottles denied them of the chance and opportunity to “pose” as the street lingo goes. And so the smaller brands began a slow disappearance. Those that survived remained regional brands that focused on markets away from city centres where income was low and people bought only those brands that are cheap.
But this is about to change. And if you look at the market, you would see a number of relatively unknown brands fighting at the national marketplace for a share of the excitement.
Of these new entrants, the one that appears to have the biggest muscle is 33 Export Lager beer which has been around since the late 70s but in the past few years has been making a lot of noises in the market.
33 Export is rumoured to be driven by Eze Festus Odimegwu, former Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries. Odimegwu was the man that spearheaded the merciless growth and dominance of the brands on Nigeria Breweries stable and applied several events and reality shows to drive Star and Gulder to levels of national market leadership. If it is his Midas touch that is working up 33 Export, then Star and Harp had better watch out. The brand is gaining wide acceptance, what with recent marketing activity.
According to its Regional Manager, Western Operations, Adejare Yusuf “The successful quality upgrade and re-launch of “33” export in 2006 started an amazing rise in market share for three consecutive years and the momentum has not stopped. 33” Export is now the third largest lager brand in the country.
Although it is still priced slightly lower than the leading brands, Yusuf thinks Nigerian consumers are smartly accepting the fact that high quality brands offered at a low price, does translate to higher value for money. “This has been a key strategic pillar for Consolidated Breweries Plc, as a Company, to offer high quality products, brewed under strict international standards and controls, offer them at a low price to hardworking Nigerians who expect to get good value for every naira they spend.”
The other brands that are kicking up a lot of dust are Kronenbourg and Goldberg beer brands. Kronenbourg, marketed by International Breweries Plc is giving itself a fighting chance for a share of the national market. International Breweries in 2008 aligned with a foreign franchise and also went to the capital market same year to raise money that it is presently spending on making the brand to of request for consumers. On its part, Goldberg, driven by Sona Breweries. Sona is working with a number of breweries scattered all over the country, a factor that gives it leverage in marketing and distribution. Its Goldberg brand is also doing its best to give Star and Harp the scare that could recalibrate marketing budgets. But can these “new comers” effectively challenge the leaders? That is the question time and consumers would answer in the coming years. As it is presently, Star and Harp are still sitting pretty. Star was introduced into the Nigerian market on June 2, 1949. Creating the first indigenously brewed beer in a market that was dominated exclusively by imported brands. Shortly after its entry into the market, Star overcame the challenges associated with a new brand in a market already used to imported beer and started on a path of tremendous growth. The brand attained market leadership in 1960, with sales of about 2,191,376 crates in 1962 and by 1975, the figure had risen to 11,266,000 crates. Star claims it is largely responsible for the growth of the Nigerian indigenous beer industry as the success story of this icon has influenced the introduction of other successful brands. As at 2003, the sales figures were already in the region of 40 million crates for that year alone. In 2007, sales for the brand rose tremendously to over 49 million crates, which has made Star one of West Africa’s leading beer brands, selling more than 3 million hectoliters annually in Nigeria alone.
Of all the beer brands in Nigeria, Star is the hugest advertiser. From the very first campaign slogan of “Ah! Star – Beer at its best” introduced in 1949 to the “Brightness” campaign in the 1970s and 80s, the “Turn to Star – the ideal Brew” campaign launched in 1989, to the “Live the Brighter Life In Style – Star Ahead on Taste” campaign in the 1990s, to the recent campaigns of “Never a Dull Moment with Star” to “Share the Brighter Life” and currently “Star Connects” – the brand has been able to stay ahead of competition.
But it is being challenged heavily by the Guinness brands that recently knocked Star of the leadership status at least in the Lagos market. Harp lost to Star some years ago but of recent was relaunched and has been inching up the charts nationally so much so that in certain segments of the market, it has been upstaging Star.
As the list keeps growing, the market is looking out for the one from the new school that could come from behind to shake the leaders. That would be a phenomenon brand historians would love to see in this generation.
