Global vision

Niche imports are growing, but is the label brewed at source' really that important to the mass market?

According to an old advertising slogan, real sherry is made only in Spain, but the brewing world is a bit less fussy. Grolsch flips out of Burton and Red Stripe comes from sunny Bedford, alongside the Indian-connected Cobra.

There's nothing new in the lagers consumed in the UK being brewed elsewhere, ostensibly to make them cheaper to produce and/or transport.

But the launch of a campaign called NoFibs (National Organisation for Imported Beers) to promote genuine imports generically to trade and consumers has put the issue back in the public eye.

John Harley, the former boss of Budvar in the UK, was the driving force behind forming the group and is still involved despite his departure from the company. Several of the beer importers the Morning Advertiser spoke to for this feature say they are part of the campaign, but seem unable to say what it might consist of in any detail.

Recent talks this month between the other companies driving the campaign, including Heineken and Ubevco, have resulted in plans to carry out in-depth consumer research to understand attitudes to imported beers and how "brewed under licence" products are viewed.

In theory, these products provide licensees with cheaper beer, and, again in theory, modern brewing technology means recipes and water quality can be replicated away from the original source.

The big remaining question is whether consumers really care where their beer comes from.

Kevin Armes, licensee of the Rose Grower in Bramcote, Notts, thinks many consumers are savvy enough to worry about such things.

"It's certainly something that comes up with customers from time to time," he says. "I've got a bit of a liking for Leffe and one or two of the older customers said they'd tried it and the fact that it was brewed in Belgium did make a difference."

That takes care of a relatively niche brand, but what about a mass-market premium lager such as Stella Artois? Would being able to sell Belgian-brewed Stella instead of the UK version really help business?

"Possibly, if it was marketed as an import, it might generate a bit of interest," says Armes. "I think that sort of things does have a psychological effect on people."

But Graham Rowson, licensee of the Plungington Tavern in Preston, says the issue seldom arises. "Boddingtons moved from Strangeways to Wales, but it hasn't stopped people drinking Boddingtons. Whether Beck's is made in Germany or France or anywhere else, I don't think people care."

Drinkers seek genuine imports

Among suppliers, the view is unsurprisingly split along the lines of vested interest. Those with brands brewed in the historical country of origin point to sales growth for imports of 17% in the year to 17 January 2005 as evidence that consumers are looking for genuine imports, strangely discounting the possibility of other factors, such as the effectiveness of their own marketing campaigns.

The counter to that is the statistic that 85% of the lager consumed in the UK is brewed in the UK. It's one that supporters of imports point to as evidence of a smoke screen behind which the big brands hide, but could equally suggest that the majority of consumers know that their pint comes from somewhere in Britain and couldn't give a monkey's.

Simon Green, senior brand manager for Netherlands-brewed Amstel, says: "It matters to some consumers and not to others. There are groups of people who are particularly interested in the provenance of a brand and they're the sorts who will be very selective and looking for outlets that differentiate their offering.

"But across the mass market there won't be the same amount of consumer interest."

John Holberry, sales director for the on-trade at Grolsch brewer Coors, insists: "We can't find any evidence that consumers are bothered generally. They're bothered about the authenticity of the taste but they're not bothered whether it's brewed in Burton, Brentwood or Bucharest.

"If Budvar hasn't got the scale to brew under licence then it's important to them and if you have a very premium niche brand it can make a difference."

More are calling for fresh' beer

The opposing view argues that recent sales trends speak for themselves. Tony Baumann is the UK sales manager for German-brewed Warsteiner in the UK. He says: "The fact that genuine imports have been growing at 17 times faster than the UK beer market for the last few years suggests there is awareness. That seems to me to be strong evidence."

David Jones, communications manager at Scottish Courage, points to another issue that could override the debate about how "real" a lager is: "More and more people are calling for fresh beer which you're not going to get if you're importing it from Australia or wherever. There's an extra cost of course, too."

But Paul Brindely, national on-trade sales manager for Dutch lager company Bavaria UK, which does not brew under licence, argues that consumers are prepared to pay extra for a brewed-abroad beer.

"People that really like beer understand that there is a degree of logistics cost to get the brand from the other side of the world," he argues.