Germany: Original Oettinger is to become the leading beer brand in Germany this year. The Bayern based brewery Oettinger is forecasted to sell in the domestic market 6.4 million hl of Original Oettinger; that is a 23% increase versus 2003. The news was first published by Focus Magazine last week and was confirmed by brewerys owner, Günther Kollmar, on Monday, December 13. Thus, Original Oettinger brand is surpassing Krombacher brand, which this year is to register 5.5 million hl sales on the domestic market. Original Oettinger is one of the cheapest beer brands in Germany. In order to achieve the lowest possible prices the brewery does not spend a cent on TV advertising and have no intermediary wholesales distributors, Sueddeutsche Zeitung commented.
The overall turnover of Oettinger brands, including export will account about 8 million hl in 2004.