complicated matter
sphere of influence, forms the excep
tion to this rule. Puerto Ricans are
apparently not (yet) ready for a low
alcohol, low calorie beer.
At the moment Amstel Light is
still predominantly drunk by the
American tourists in the Caribbean.
Their demand for this product is
slowly being adopted by the local
population, as is the growing health
consciousness with more attention to
calories.
Netherlands
But success in the United States
is no guarantee for success in other
countries. On the home front Amstel
Light was significantly less success
ful than in the regions described
above, the simple reason being that
the light segment has hardly
developed in Holland yet.
Amstel Light was introduced in
the Netherlands in 1988 as a means
of gaining share in the static beer
market. It soon became clear that the
Dutch consumer had less faith in
light beer than had initially been
assumed. The argument that light
beer contains fewer calories than
regular beer was brushed aside. If
you want to lose weight, then stop
drinking beer for a while instead of
changing over to light beer, that was
the Dutch consumer's line of think
ing.
Moreover, the introduction of the
non alcohol beer Buckler six months
after the launch of Amstel Light
caused confusion amongst consu
mers. The advertising for Amstel
Light had to emphasise its lower
alcohol content, but Buckler con
tained considerably less alcohol than
Amstel Light. The consumer sud
denly had a choice between 'regular'
beer and Buckler. Amstel Light was
caught out in between the two.
In the meantime it is clear that
Amstel Light occupies a prominent
place within the light segment but
that the segment itself does not play
any substantial role within the Dutch
beer market.
Generally speaking, Amstel Light
should play a significant role in
countries with an existing light seg
ment. Consumers see Amstel Light
as a good-tasting alternative to regu
lar beers and appreciate its quality
so much that they are willing to pay
that little extra.
T H F. WORLD OF H F I N F K F N
