International flavour

Take customers on a magical mystery tour through a world of new beers, says Punch Taverns marketing director Geoff Brown

For a long time now, it has seemed that brewers have stood by and watched wine, alcopops and cider create the real talking points in the alcoholic drinks market.

Where were the points of difference in the beer category? And who was making a real effort to attract new customers?

However, the explosion of new overseas beers can provide a great way for publicans to attract new customers and sell more beer.

If people want to experience a taste of the Far East, South America and Europe every day, beer brands can help them, with more overseas beer brands now sold in the UK than ever before.

Multicultural movement

Listing new foreign beer brands used to be based on a combination of flavour, history and price. Brands such as Bud, Becks and Holsten grew up in the UK on that basis.

In addition, brands such as Corona, San Miguel and Peroni have all achieved recent success this way.

But now we have a new reason to list overseas brands - beer brands for the non-native population. The most obvious example is the relatively recent introduction of Polish brands, proving popular with consumers who have come to live in Britain.

All this is great news for brand-owners and for pubs, as it introduces even more reasons to try new beers and attract new customers.

It also give licensees the motivation to really sell these brands - through awareness and availability - rather than just sticking them in the fridge and hoping that someone will ask for them.

So go for it - try stocking Peruvian Cusqueña or Russian Baltika in your fridges. Encourage your staff to recommend Poretti or Tiger.

Aim to transform the customer's regular visit to your pub into a fascinating trip through a variety of flavours and a host of fantastic, esoteric places.