NEW FIVE LITRE DRAUGHTKEG LAUNCHED IN SPAIN AND THE NETHERLANDS
XTREME DRAUGHT: HEINEKEN'S NEW BEER SYSTEM
HEINEKEN'S NEW GALAXY GL
ASS LAUNCHED INI
THE NETHERLANDS
Heineken has introduced DraughtKeg 5L, the gravity flow
dispensing system, in the Netherlands and Spain following
the tap system's success in France, Taiwan and the US.
The new system contains five litres of beer (compared to
the 4.75 litre version of the keg already released in
selected international markets). DraughtKeg caters for
consumers who want to share and enjoy quality draught
beer anywhere they like, a concept which is universally
applicable to cultures worldwide.
"With the launch of DraughtKeg in the first three
international markets," explains Mark Ruygrok, Marketing
Manager for DraughtKeg at Group Commerce, "Heineken
was already playing a leading role in the new worldwide
segment of portable quality draught beer.
The introduction of the new and
improved five litre DraughtKeg in Spain,
the Netherlands and other markets will further consolidate
this position."
Consumer response to the 4.75 litre DraughtKeg has
been positive. In France, the CO2 pressurised keg is
clearly more popular than other, gravity-flow kegs,
while in the US, DraughtKeg achieved immediate
product leadership in the mini-keg segment and
almost doubled total segment volume. "Behind the
scenes, we have been working on improvement of
portability, protection of the tap components
during transportation and bringing the content up
to a full five litres. At the same time, we wanted it
to look different from existing five litre gravity flow
kegs because of our superior performance,"
Ruygrok says.
Heineken Beer Systems will next year release the latest
innovation in its range of draught beer systems: the Xtreme
Draught, a refrigerated dual keg dispensing system.
Representing a new dimension in mobile beer systems,
Xtreme Draught was tested throughout July and August, 2005
in five European markets: the Netherlands, Spain, Greece,
Italy and Austria.
Designed with accessibility and mobility in mind, Xtreme
Draught incorporates a small, replacable CO2 container
within the unit itself. Xtreme Draught is easily moved, on
wheels, and is half the width of the David draught system.
"Xtreme Draught was tested in a total of 50 on-trade outlets,"
says Casper't Hooft, Marketing Manager for the new beer
system. "With its relatively low cost, attractive design and
simplicity of use, Xtreme Draught is the perfect mobile
draught beer solution for hotels, restaurants, bars and of
course on terraces."
Now that Xtreme Draught's initial test period has
concluded, Heineken's new draught beer system will be ready
for market launch across the globe in the first quarter of 2006.
In October, Heineken introduced a new glass for on-
premise in the Netherlands; after 26 years, the iconic
Heineken "Stier" was withdrawn from the market and
replaced by the sleeker and sexier "Galaxy" glass.
A batch of 800,000 glasses was manufactured in the
first round of the Galaxy's production, supplied to
around 15,000 on-trade outlets in the Netherlands.
"It was time for a change," says Ronald den Elzen,
Heineken's On-trade Director. "The Galaxy is narrower
than other Heineken glasses and has a rounded base,
which produces a more attractive draught when
properly tapped at the bar."
The launch of the new Galaxy glass coincides with
Heineken's innovative master class programme being
implemented in the Netherlands. "Heineken is
continually striving to increase the attractiveness of
the brand," says den Elzen. "Our master class
programme aims at training on-premise staff in
service, active selling-techniques and draught beer
quality. We want to offer our consumers the best
quality: a perfectly served beer in a unique branded
glass. So far, nearly 10,000 staff members in on-
premise have been trained, and in 2006 a further
10,000 will be trained."
These master classes mean greater advantage for
the business, as poorly tapped draught beer costs
both the publican and Heineken volume.
