Russia: British brewery, Scottish & Newcastle, has confirmed that it will launch two of its existing beer brands into the Russian beer market this year in an effort to tap in on the premium market, Beverage Daily reported on January 29. The two brands are Kronenberg 1664 and Foster’s, which are currently two of its leading brands in the western European market. Scottish & Newcastle spokesperson Bridget Walker said, “The launches are aimed at feeding demand in the small but growing premium and super-premium sectors. Currently Kronenberg 1664 is marketed as a premium beer in western European markets, however Foster’s is more of a mainstream brand there. What we will be doing is re-branding it for the Russian market as a premium beer alongside the Kronenberg brand.”

Walker confirmed that the launches were scheduled for the second half of this year and that the brands would be produced under license by the Baltic Beverage Holding (BBH) company, which is a joint venture between Scottish & Newcastle and Denmark’s Carlsberg group. “We see both of these brands as having huge potential on the Russian market place,” said Walker. “Although sales of Russian beer have shown signs of levelling off, it is the niche premium sectors that now have the most room for development.”

The UK brewer has enjoyed huge success in Russia on the back of its investment in BBH. Although the Scottish & Newcastle only bought into BBH 2 years ago, the investment rapidly increasing turnover and profits from the Russian division have helped to boost results for the group as a whole. Last month the brewer reported that turnover for the six months to October 2003 had increased 17 per cent to just over £3bn, whilst profits had increased 16 per cent to £510 million.

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