Peru: AmBev Peru launches the yet-to-be-named beer at weekend parties

AmBev Peru will launch its first beer in the country at a series of weekend launch parties, a company spokesman said on May 20, according to Dow Jones.

For months now, AmBev has been promoting the yet-to-be-named brew. Its introduction will inject competition to a market dominated by Union de Cervecerias Peruanas Backus & Johnston SAA, or Backus. Two launch parties will be held at a posh disco, while another will be held at a stadium, company spokesman Bruno Cosentino told reporters in an evening news conference.

Backus, controlled by Colombia's Bavaria SA, recently introduced a new lower-priced brand in preparation of the AmBev launch.

AmBev Peru entered the Peruvian market in late 2003 when it bought two plants, the right to bottle some soft drinks, and a distribution network that serves Lima and the northern part of the nation. It has spent millions to construct a new brewery on the outskirts of Lima, where it can produce a million hectoliters of beer a year or more, or about 16% of the national market.

Several land disputes delayed construction of the brewery, which was originally meant to be up and running last year. AmBev also faced challenges to its plans to use the same returnable 620-milliliter bottles that Backus uses in Peru.

As part of the launch, AmBev has run a widely publicized contest in which people try to guess what the company will call the beer.

Bavaria says that a more aggressive marketing campaign, including lower beer prices, will help it stand up against AmBev in Peru and elsewhere in South America.

Backus gained a monopoly on production in 2000 after buying out longtime rival Compania Cervecera del Sur Del Peru SA, or Cervesur.

After a contentious series of share purchases, Bavaria bought a controlling interest in Backus, while Venezuela's Cisneros Group and local shareholders hold minority positions.

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