Heineken increased its marketing and sales spend by almost a fifth (22.4%) to £2.4 billion (€2.7 billion) last year.
According to the Financial Times, the second-largest brewer in the world hoped to lure consumers hit by inflation to try more ‘upmarket’ beers.
The Dutch company – which owns Birra Moretti, Amstel and Tiger – raised its marketing and selling expenses to a level higher than that of pre-Covid 19 spending.
Despite the cost of living crisis, Heineken group CEO Dolf Van den Brink said that the company would continue to spend more on marketing to entice customers to ‘switch’ to more upmarket products.
“Consistently, our premium brands are growing faster than the total portfolio,” he said. “There are many concerns about . . . pricing and the resilience of consumers, but we really see, all the way to the fourth quarter, our premium portfolio outperforming our total portfolio.”
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Van den Brink also told the Financial Times that Heineken was focused on the growth of its existing brands as the alcohol industry moved on from a ‘period of consolidation’. “The relative importance of [mergers and acquisitions] won’t be the same as it was in the past. Increasing our marketing spend is important.”
