share the Low-alcohol or alcohol-free Good flavour prime consideration in developing non-alcoholic beer In April it went on sale for Spanish customers; the French have been able to enjoy its taste since June; Ireland and the Netherlands will follow in September. The drink they're all talking about is Buckler, a new Heineken beer. Down to work 150 names Label Positive One of the oldest licences for Heineken beer in the Caribbe an region is held by the brewery of Desnoes and Geddes Ltd. in Jamaica. For fifteen years now Heineken beer has been brewed there and, particularly since last year, with great success. Both the market share and sales of Heineken beer have shown substantial growth. "The Jamaican is proud and self-assured but at the same time is orientated towards the wider world. Heineken's image in Jamaica links up with this perfectly." Milestone Cooperation I PAGE 4 HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NR. 15 Buckler: result of lengthy research The underlying aim in the devel opment of Buckler was that the new product had to possess all the characteristics that the consumer expects of a beer - except, of course, for the alcohol. Heineken's brewers have succeeded in their mission: Buckler is a thirst-quench ing beer with a superb flavour... and one that can be drunk any time of the day. The product - made by a special brewing process - does contain a negligible quantity of alcohol. But not much more than can be found in some other (alcohol-free) drinks such as fruit juices. The idea of marketing a non alcoholic beer did not come out of the blueAt Heineken's head office the development of beers without alcohol had been closely monitored for some years before a working group was first set up in February 1987 to get down to work on developing our own beer with no alcohol - but 100% flavour. Mr. A.J.M. Hakkaart is the man in our Corporate Advertising department who is responsible for The naming of the product category that Buckler is classed in leads, almost inevitably, to quite some confusion. It's all due to the fact that product legislation differs between the various countries. In France, for example, beer with less than 1% alcohol can legally be described as 'bière sans alcohol' alcohol-free beer). And that same maximum percentage allows the beer to be classed as 'alcohol-free lager' in the Irish Republic. The Dutch law has differ ent requirements. Since recently beers containing less than 0.1% alcohol may be described as alcohol-free, whilst beers with a maximum of 0.6% alcohol by volume are designated as 'low- alcohol'. In the Netherlands, therefore, Buckler is officially labelled as a 'low- alcohol beer'. In Spain the rules are different again. Buckler is not allowed to be called 'beer' there. Products with Buckler's low alcohol percentage must be referred to by the Spanish term 'Malta espumoso' (aerated malt beverage). product development and, as a member of the working group, he was closely involved in the birth of Buckler. Heineken Technical Services (HTB) were also represented in this working group. Our Spanish operating company El Aguila was designated as 'lead country' for the development project. "El Aguila also had the biggest interest in the development of the new product, as non-alcohol beers have already captured a sizable proportion of the Spanish market", says Mr. Hakkaart. In that market segment El Aguila was selling 'Aguila Sin', and with a fair amount of success. But the quality of Aguila Sin was not considered optimal^ And that was why El Aguila was enthusiastic in helping to develop a non-alcoholic beer, together with Heineken Technisch Beheer and Corporate Marketing. Whilst HTB researched the technical aspects, other working group members studied possible names and packaging designs for the new product. Mr. Hakkaart: "We deliberately decided not to introduce the new product under the Amstel or Heineken brand name. It's important that a non alcoholic beer has an identity of its own: that's why we looked for a new name." The British bureau Interbrand in London was commissioned to develop a new brand name which could be used internationally. Not an easy task, since some 40,000 beer names are currently registered throughout the world. From the list of 150 names suggested by Inter- brand only two names ultimately remained after all the research into linguistics, trade-mark law and consumer acceptance. These were Buckler and Norlander. The choice fell on Buckler, as this name offers the best possibilities for use as an international brand name. But that did not mean that the working group's assignment was over. A product name had been selected, but what would the label have to look like? "You can approach a product like Buckler from two angles", explains Mr. Hakkaart. "You can look upon it as a beer without alcohol, or as a non alcoholic soft drink for adult consumers. This has to be taken into account in your label design. The label should convey either a beer-like character or that of a soft drink." In Spain, the Netherlands, the United States and France research then started into the question 'how does Buckler compare with the competition as regards product, name, packaging and image?' This research revealed not only that the beer-based approach offered the best opportunities but also that Buckler had a very high score compared to the competing brands. Buckler has meanwhile been on the Spanish market for some time. Buckler's predecessor, Aguila Sin, will be phased out gradually. Buckler is doing very well in Spain and expectations are pitched high. In France the consumer launch of Buckler was delayed slightly because production of the TV commercial took somewhat longer than planned. Mid-June saw the first screening of the Buckler TV spot on French television. However, the trade in France had already been informed in advance Many proposed versions were assessed before Buckler's definitive label (below right) was finally approved. about Buckler and responded in a very positive way. For the French market Buckler will be brewed for the time being at the Heineken brewery in 's-Hertogenbosch. In due course Frangaise de Brasserie will brew Buckler itself. The brewery in Den Bosch will also be producing Buckler for the Dutch and Irish markets. In the latter two markets the product's launch will start next month. The Export department is now looking into the possibilities that exist for Buckler in other countries in Europe and elsewhere Fifteen years Heineken beer licence in Jamaica J.G.C.M. Janssen, area market ing manager for the Caribbean and Central America, is obviously pleased about the good results of Desnoes Geddes, in which Hei neken meanwhile owns 21% of the shares. Heineken recently expand ed its stake in Desnoes Geddes from 10% to 21% in exchange for Desnoes Geddes taking an inter est of 10% in the Windward and Leeward Brewery on St. Lucia. "Winning a place in the heart and lifestyle of the Jamaican is difficult. But once you succeed, you're made As we've certainly found. We can scarcely keep pace with the growth in demand. This is also one of the reasons why the brewery is being expanded." Consumers and the trade in Ja maica have seen few Heineken promotional activities over the past fifteen years. But this will now change. A great deal of publicity material is already available and Heineken also sponsors such events Big billboards with the new Heine ken advertising slogan: "Share the good feeling..." have recently been positioned along the roadsides. as jazz concerts and the Caribbean Golf Tournament. A new advertis ing campaign has also been devised based on the message: "Heineken, share the good feeling. Fifteen years of Heineken in Ja maica is a milestone. In the autumn this will be celebrated by giving a big party for the employees of Des noes Geddes during which there will be presentations about Heine ken in the world and, of course, about Heineken in Jamaica. The cooperation with Desnoes Geddes has been strengthened con siderably over the past year. One of the results has been a licensing agreement under which our brew ery in St. Lucia will brew Red Stripe beer. The Red Stripe brand is owned by Desnoes Geddes and is exported to the United States, Canada and to countries in the Caribbean. Following the United Kingdom, St. Lucia has now be come the second country in which Red Stripe is brewed under licence. The strengthened links with Des noes Geddes also resulted in the launch of Greens Sands Shandy in Jamaica at the end of April. Green Sands is currently brewed in Trini dad for export to Jamaica. But there are plans to start producing Green Sands under licence in Ja maica in the future. "Green Sands, deliciously diffe rent" is the slogan for two TV spots specially produced for Jamaican viewers. Radio commercials and big posters are also used to draw consumers' attention to this new product for Jamica.

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

Heineken International Magazine | 1988 | | pagina 4