Finland & Norway: Nordic drinks firm Anora to distribute AB InBev beer brands in Finland and Norway

Nordic drinks firm Anora has announced the signing of a partnership with AB InBev, under which it will distribute beer brands including Corona, Stella Artois and Budweiser in the on-trade channel in Finland and Norway, the European Supermarket Magazine reported on August 28.

The agreement comes into effect at the start of September, and will enable Finland-headquartered Anora to strengthen its offering to on-trade customers, a key element in its growth strategy, the drinks firm said.

“We are honoured and excited about this partnership with AB InBev," commented Pekka Tennilä, Anora chief executive.

"We have been focusing strongly on building our on-trade excellence at Anora and this partnership is another important step on that path. In line with our purpose of bringing the world of drinks to Nordic consumers, with the addition of these iconic beer brands in our partner brand portfolio we can offer even better service to our on-trade customers in Finland and Norway."

Elsewhere. Jerry Maguire, director, Growth Markets Europe at AB InBev, praised the "outstanding reputation" developed by Anora in recent years, adding that the brewer is "delighted to go hand-in-hand with Anora to grow our strong global brands".

The long-term partnership agreement covers all on-trade distribution of AB InBev brands such as Corona Extra and Corona Cero, Stella Artois, and Budweiser in the Finnish and Norwegian markets.

Last week, Anora announced a 10.2% increase in net sales during the second quarter of its fiscal year, attributed to the positive impact of its acquisition of the Globus Wine portfolio the previous year.

Accumulated net sales for the period reached €182.7 million, marking an increase from €165.7 million recorded in the same period the preceding year. Net sales if Globus Wine is excluded totalled €158.5 million.

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