Ambev to widen portfolio without alcohol
Valor Econômico
Ambev, the largest beer producer, is getting its act together to grow in the segment of non-alcoholic beverages: sodas, energy drinks, isotonic drinks and teas. Joao Castro Neves, ahead the company since January 2009, says they will use the same strategy used with the beer for those products: increase the number of versions of the beverage and of packaging. Ambev has less than 70% of the national market of beers and it is present in 1 million points of sale. Its closest rival, Schincariol, has a share little above 10% and it is undergoing conversations with foreign groups like SABMiller, Heineken and Carlsberg to sell the company control.
"We hold a good position in beer; a much lower position on soda; a little better one in flavored water; the best position in isotonic drinks; and a not so interesting position in teas. There are many segments in beverages it is possible to grow", says Castro Neves. In the portfolio of Ambev, in fact, the beer segment rules. They are 16 brands of beer, 8 of soft drinks, one of tea, one of isotonic drinks and one of energetic drinks.
This year, which began with a slowdown in the sales, following the slower pace of the last quarter of 2010, Ambev has already made three launchings in the area of non-alcoholic beverages: the 1-liter glass bottle of Guaraná Antarctica (returned after 19 years); the energetic Fusion (made of Guaranine, caffeine extracted from Guarana); and the soda Antarctica Citrus (mixture of apple juice, orange juice and grapefruit juice). Soon they will put in the market the Lipton Mate tea that Castro Neves, as good Carioca (person born in the city of Rio de Janeiro), bets will be greatly consumed in Rio.
The competition - easy for Ambev in beers - is going to be tougher on those other products. Ambev has a distribution agreement with PepsiCo, but it is Coca-Cola that leads the national market of soft drinks. With Gatorade, Ambev rules the market of isotonic drinks. In teas, the strongest rival is also Coca-Cola, owner of the Matte Leão brand. The Ambev Lipton is the world leader in teas, but in Brazil Matte Leão is greater.
On the beer division, the main product of Ambev, Castro Neves says the portfolio of premium brands will be increased. "We will launch Budweiser this year and it will be manufactured here", he says. Bud is the main brand of the American Anheuser-Busch acquired by InBev in 2008 originating the giant AB InBev, the largest beer manufacturer in the world. It will be sold together with Stela Artois, Original and Bohemia. The latter already has four versions on the market.