Belgium: Belgian bar owners allege InBev abusing dominant market position. InBev surprised

Belgian bar owners claim that brewing giant InBev is abusing its dominant market position by introducing larger glasses for its Jupiler beer brand, AFX News posted on September 28th.

They complained to the Belgian competition authorities the glasses, which were introduced at the beginning of this year, are 2.5 centilitres bigger than the old ones and require them to pour more beer for the same price, reported daily Le Soir.

InBev said it is 'surprised' by the complaint and 'deplores' the action taken by two representative bodies in the food and catering industry.

It denied claims it introduced the new glasses to boost sales volumes. 'We changed the glasses because we launched a new logo for Jupiler,' spokesman Lian Verhoeven said. InBev added in a statement that the glasses allow for beer to be served with 3cm of foam, which it said is a key criteria of quality.