For its sophomore year, Heineken Silver will get another $100 million investment, Heineken USA leaders announced during the company’s annual business planning meeting.
Heineken USA CEO Maggie Timoney shared the U.S. subsidiary of the Dutch brewing giant had learnings and has already “corrected” course for its low-cal, low-carb offering.
In the 52 week-period ending September 9, dollar sales of Heineken Silver have reached $15.92 million at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm NIQ, according to data provided to Brewbound by 3 Tier Beverages.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” she said. “We have the best product. We’re going after the domestic premium light segment.
“The repeat on Silver is really big,” Timoney continued. “Once people taste it, they love it.”
In 2024, the company plans to deliver 10 times the amount of samples it served in 2023, VP of marketing for Heineken Borja Manso said.
Heineken Silver packaging has been updated “in a very substantial way” with the beer’s new descriptor – “World Class Light Beer” – “loud and clear in the front.” The new packaging will roll out in early Q1 2024.
In the low-carb, low-calorie segment, the majority (60%) of brands are priced at mainstream levels or below, CMO Johnnie Cahill said.
“If we want to trade people up, this is the opportunity,” he added.
Similar to other brands in Heineken USA’s portfolio, Heineken Silver has attracted multicultural consumers, Manso said.
“It’s actually a very good profile to have, because it’s the future,” he said.
The company’s ask of its wholesale partners in the east is for a stack of Heineken Silver on every Heineken display, as well as 12-pack cans in both large- and small-format retail accounts, VP of eastern division sales Brett Anderson said.
Heineken 0.0: 4 Years of Double-Digit Growth
A bright spot for Heineken USA – and has been since its launch in 2019 – is Heineken 0.0, the country’s leading non-alcoholic (NA) beer. For its fifth year in market, the company plans to expand Heineken 0.0 distribution in both grocery and convenience stores.
Heineken 0.0 6-pack bottles and 12-pack cans are the NA segment’s No. 1 and No. 3 best-selling SKUs, respectively, Anderson said
“At some point, someone is going to break through convenience with non-alc and we want to make sure it’s us,” Anderson said. “We want to continue to move that needle until convenience gets on board with non-alc.”
At multi-outlet grocery and convenience stores tracked by Circana, dollar sales of Heineken 0.0 have increased +12.2%, to $62.1 million, year-to-date through October 8.
The overall NA segment has recorded the strongest growth in the beer category, increasing dollar sales +29.9% YTD through October 8, to $279.2 million. Still, the segment accounts for just 0.78% of all beer category dollars and 0.67% of case volume.
Dos Equis’ On-Premise Focus
For Mexican import brand Dos Equis, the company has identified draft as a key growth driver.
“If you look at the Dos opportunity in on-premise, it’s just phenomenal,” Cahill said.
To get there, Dos Equis is asking wholesaler partners to target slower-moving craft tap handles based on the tailwinds Mexican imports have compared to craft beer’s slowed sales.
Year-to-date, Dos Equis on-premise sales are up +4%, driven by Dos Equis draft, for which availability is up +20%, Mike Miskiewicz, senior director of on-premise sales said. The brand is at its “highest amount of mandate executions,” which it aims to keep.