New look
Dynamalt
De-coupled
In the mid-1980s Heineken deci
ded that in future the malta product
would be de-coupled from the
Heineken and Amstel brands so as to
give Heineken and Amstel a more
'beery' image and also to create new
opportunities for the malta segment.
To implement this plan, Heineken
developed and introduced the
Dynamalt brand. Amstel Malta was
phased out, except by Antilliaanse
Brouwerij on Curasao and the Amstel
Brewery in Lebanon which continued
to make this product for the local
market.
The replacement of Heineken 23
Malta by Dynamalt was the next
phase. By that time, however, more
detailed market research had re
vealed that the image of Dynamalt
needed to be improved. It was deci
ded to keep Heineken Malta on the
market whilst work was still going on
to optimise Dynamalt. The new-style
Dynamalt was given good marks in
the tests held on the Caribbean
islands of Antigua and Guadeloupe
and the product has been available in
the 25 cl brown long neck bottle since
the beginning of this year.
Malta is a dark non-alcoholic wort not nutritious,
beverage with a distinctly sweet
flavour. The beverage is bottled be
fore fermentation starts, which means
that it does not normally contain any
alcohol. In the Caribbean, Latin
America and Africa malta is not only
seen as a thirst quencher but also as a
food. Sometimes the drinking water
may be unreliable in some countries.
The pasteurised malta beverage then
offers a safe alternative.
Prosperity
According to marketing manager
Charles Janssen, the twofold function
of malta (food and drink at the same
time) is lost as soon as prosperity
increases in a country. "When people
have more money to spend, they tend
to eat or drink other things. We have
therefore decided to position Dyna
malt as a product which restores
energy." Mr Janssen believes that the
absence of alcohol in Dynamalt is an
essential product property which
needs to be communicated clearly, as
the product in fact originates from a
brewery. What's more, not all malt
beverages are completely alcohol-
free. This causes confusion amongst
consumers.
Dynamalt has been given a double facelift. Both
the bottle and label have been modified to give the
product a clearer positioning. Deliveries of new-
style Dynamalt started in January.
The world market for 'malta'
malt beverages (some 4 million
hectolitres per year) has an
unusual structure. Half of total con
sumption takes place in Germany,
where two brands hold 60% of the
market. The other half of world con
sumption of malta takes place in
developing countries in the Carib
bean, Latin America and Africa.
Malta is not a drink which is
consumed in big quantities. Con
sumption is usually limited to one
bottle, as the product is quite filling.
The important thing is to get the
product's viscosity right. If it is too
treacle-like, the consumer will regard
the product as unpleasant because it
does not serve as a thirst quencher.
But if the product is not sufficiently
viscous, the consumer will think it is
THE WOHLD OF HEINF. KF.N
