The Philippines: San Miguel Food and Beverage to boost beer and liquor sales growth this year

San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB), a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation, is confident of boosting sales growth for its beer and liquor businesses, the Manila Bulletin reported on June 5.

During the firm�s annual stockholders� meeting, San Miguel Brewery Inc. Officer-In-Charge Carlos Antonio M. Berba said, �For this year, we aim to further boost demand and sustained volume growth by focusing on consumption programs and capturing untapped and underserved market opportunities.�

He added that �these include reinforcing leadership by strengthening the distinctiveness of our SMB brands, and leveraging on our portfolio with the introduction of new products and package formats in both premium and mainstream segments."

�We will build a stronger consumer base by implementing exciting consumption generating programs and intensifying availability and visibility in the various trade channels with channel specific initiatives. Likewise, we will also strengthen our no or low alcohol brands in line with our sustainability thrust. And we are confident these programs will provide the growth in returns for the company," he also said.

Meanwhile, SMFB Executive Director and Ginebra San Miguel General Manager Emmanuel Macalalag noted that there is still a lot of room for growth as their dominant market position accounts for only 48 percent of the total market.

�Now, if you look at geography, the company has very good potential in Visayas and Mindanao where we are actually pushing for wider distribution and marketing of our brands there," he said.

In fact, last year, both Ginebra San Miguel brand and GSM Blue performed quite well. They grew about 50 percent in terms of volume.

Now, he said, the main objective of the company this year is to further strengthen its market position as a leader in the local spirits industry.