Brazil: InBev, the brewing giant formed last year from the merger of Interbrew and AmBev, has declared its intention to make Brazil's Brahma Beer a global brand and has just handed an estimated $40m (£22m) launch budget to US agency McGarry Bowen, according to Marketing Week recent publication. If, as expected, it comes to the UK, Brahma Beer will join Peruvian beer Cusqueña, which is about to be rolled out across the country by distributor Chilli Marketing after a trial in Manchester. Halewood International is already ahead of the pack with last year's launch of Brazilian beer A Marca Bravara, under licence from Molson.

“Despite this interest in the lifestyle, there is a question mark over whether European taste buds will appreciate the crisper, lighter South American beers, which should be drunk "estupidamente gelada" or "stupidly cold", analysts are searching. Jamie Lister, director of drinks marketing consultancy Drink Works, says that beers from hot countries sell themselves on "ease of drinking and refreshment", whereas "British drinkers like interesting brands with a lot of flavour." However, he points out that drinkers aged under 30 are now moving towards ease of drinking, creating room for a premium brand that has a lower alcohol content, at about four percent alcohol by volume, than the northern climate's top-end lagers such as Carlsberg Export and Beck's, which are five percent ABV.

Mexican brands Sol and Corona Extra tried to crack the UK market when they launched more than 15 years ago, but it is lagers from more northerly parts that have continued to dominate the import market, which accounts for 11 % of consumption (Mintel 2002). Traditionally, the largest exporters of beer to the UK are the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and France.

Whether the new clutch of lager brands from South America will manage to make permanent inroads into the fickle world of the premium packaged lager market remains to be seen. David Preston, director of marketing premium beers at Coors Beers, says: "There is a nascent specialist lager market that seems to have brands coming in and out a bit quicker than the main brands. Brahma could be one of these. If they give it more focus, it could be bigger." Halewood marketing controller Fiona Langan adds: "There is a danger of being just a novelty. You have to be careful how you launch it and make sure you generate consumer loyalty."

In fact, even though Inbev will doubtless deploy some of the imagery that can be seen in Brahma ads in the beer's home market - music, dancing girls and a carnival atmosphere - the brewer is careful not to lay too much emphasis on Brahma's origins. UK marketing director Phil Rumbol says that the brewer is aware it cannot establish the brand based on short-term trends and that it aims to build it around "something that will stand the test of time".

Some observers say Inbev's move to export Brahma globally is driven less by identifying a consumer demand for South American brands overseas than by the necessity to make the most of its now huge distribution network. Chris Wood, chairman of branding company Corporate Edge, which works with Diageo among others, suggests that the decision is supplier-driven and a function of the brewer's need to exploit the European markets to which Ambev's brands previously did not have access.

Inbev's ambitions may prove unrealistic - the idea of a global beer along the lines of Coca-Cola in soft drinks has so far remained illusory. Brands such as Budweiser, Bud Light (not available in the UK after a failed foray), Heineken and Beck's have presence in many territories, but not mass scale - Bud is seen as the biggest selling brand, but it still only has just over three percent of the global market by volume. Bud Light has a slightly smaller share.

Big emerging markets such as China and Russia have still to be conquered by outsiders. However, companies continue to make big promises. Hot on Inbev's heels SABMiller has announced "a global brand strategy" for Italian beer Nastro Azzurro. The UK will be the launchpad, with outdoor, print and cinema advertising promised.

Latest reports suggest that global brewers are negotiating with Bavaria Business Group, which dominates the market in Colombia and is South America's second-largest brewer.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .