BeerTender® - Vital statistics
BeerTender® Models:
B90 and the B95
Markets: Six
Number of kegs sold:
around 7 million
Number of brands available:
12 (Heineken, Amstel, Brand, Brand
Urtyp, Wieckse Witte, Affligem Blond,
Murphy's Irish Red, Gösser, Zipfer,
Amstel Bock, Amstel 1870, Calanda)
Winter 2007
In 2004, Heineken revolutionised home drinking with the launch
of BeerTender®, the world's first home draught beer system.
How can you give consumers the excitement and experience of tapping and
tasting genuine draught beer in the comfort of their own home? That was
the challenge answered by the Heineken innovation team and household
appliance corporation Groupe SEB when they launched BeerTender® back
in 2004. Three years on, BeerTender® is now being sold in six European
countries (Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Hungary and
Bulgaria), and has sold almost 7 million 4-litre kegs.
"Being the first personal home draught system making draught beer at
home accessible and affordable to consumers, the Heineken BeerTender®
has obtained a leadership position in all markets where the system is sold,"
says Boudewijn Haarsma, General Manager at Heineken Beer Systems.
"Tapping a genuine draught beer with the BeerTender® is a truly premium
experience, with our research showing a 90 per cent rate of customer
satisfaction. We are really proud to be the innovator of this new category of
personal home draught beer, BeerTender® clearly contributes to the
premium, innovative character of our flagship brand."
Since its launch, the Heineken BeerTender® system has undergone
continuous development and evolution. For example, at the start, only the
Heineken brand was available for BeerTender®. Now, brands such as Amstel
and Brand in the Netherlands, Zipfer and Gösser in Austria and an
impressive range of seasonal and specialty brands have been included in
the BeerTender® portfolio. "In total, 12 brands have been made available
for sale via BeerTender® with premium beer brands showing a strong share.
This reinforces the premium nature of the system and its ability to cater for
the real beer connoisseur," says Haarsma.
Not content with just one model, in 2006, Krups and Heineken together
released a new generation of BeerTender® upgraded models, offering
consumers greater temperature control and clearer volume, temperature
and freshness indicators. With these new models, consumers can even
choose the temperature of their beer (2°, 4° or 6"
Celsius), ensuring every glass is served
at exactly the desired temperature.
"The evolution of the
BeerTender® system is a
response to our consumer
insights. In this regard, we have
also offered a number of design
variations over the years,"
Haarsma continues. "Supporting
our international James Bond
sponsorship, a special aluminium
plated Bond BeerTender® has
been developed.
Additionally, a wide range of
accessories are available,
such as a UEFA Champions
League tap handle." Another
highlight was the production
of a single Millionaire's
BeerTender®, produced in
cooperation with the
Amsterdam Diamond
Society, inlaid with 18 carat
gold and 1100 diamonds.
In October last year, Heineken also launched the BeerTender® one-way
system, premiering in France. This system makes use of a unique 5-litre
disposable keg, building on the company's successful DraughtKeg
(Heineken's portable draught beer system). This dual purpose keg creates
clear synergies between DraughtKeg and BeerTender® by building on
existing DraughtKeg distribution. This ensures a fast BeerTender® roll out to
more countries in the near future.
"People around the world increasingly invest in high-end equipment to
enjoy on trade experiences and quality at home, like fully automatic
espresso machines, DVD home cinema sets and semi-professional kitchens.
This, combined with the consumer preference for draught beer, means that
BeerTender® has tremendous potential," concludes Haarsma. "We are
currently piloting the unit in Bulgaria's capital city Sofia and will also be
testing it in the US market throughout 2007. With the new dual-purpose
DraughtKegs, we are convinced that the scope for further rollouts around
the world has significantly grown. But each market is different and
BeerTender® exposes Heineken to new beer cultures and different
consumption patterns. Therefore, a careful roll out, learning from existing
markets and sharing best practices is crucial. In the coming years,
BeerTender® is certainly going to go global in a very big way."
The aluminium plated Bond edition
