Hartwall will start building Lapin Kulta into a regional beer brand for the Scandinavian and Baltic markets. This decision represents one of the new growth opportunities opened up by Hartwall’s parent company, Heineken. Didier Debrosse, President Western Europe at Heineken, visited Finland today and emphasised that Heineken has made a long-term commitment to the Finnish market.
Hartwall, the innovative leader in the Finnish beverage industry, has been part of the Heineken Group since April 2008 when Heineken and Carlsberg acquired Hartwall’s former parent company, Scottish & Newcastle. In the transaction, Heineken acquired S&N’s operations in the UK, Portugal, Belgium and Finland.
Didier Debrosse, President Western Europe at Heineken, visited Finland today. He emphasised that Heineken is in Finland to stay.
”Hartwall was a very exciting part of the S&N acquisition. Hartwall has a robust market position, great brands and a management that focuses on creating value and building innovations. Hartwall is a perfect fit for Heineken. We seek to create value instead of just volume, and consistently build our brands through innovations. We have a great deal to share with Hartwall and also much to learn from the company,” says Didier Debrosse.
”Having Heineken as our owner does not change our direction in Finland: we will continue to focus on efficiency in all our operations and to seek growth. In fact, the large Group opens up new opportunities: our portfolio now includes the authentically international premium beer Heineken, we can tap into the Group’s beer expertise and extensive range, and find new opportunities for exporting our own products,” says Hartwall’s Managing Director Yrjö Närhinen.
Lapin Kulta, the regional beer
New export opportunities have already opened up for Finland’s most internationally successful beer, Lapin Kulta.
”With Heineken, we have made a decision in principle to start building Lapin Kulta into a regional beer brand for the Scandinavian and Baltic markets. We are well poised to do so, because Lapin Kulta is already very popular in close-by territories and its exports are surging,” says Närhinen.
In 2008, exports of Lapin Kulta were up a whopping 24% on the previous year. About 20% of Lapin Kulta goes into export. Lapin Kulta’s major export markets are Sweden, Russia, Estonia, Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom. Smaller volumes are also exported to several other European countries. Lapin Kulta has become the second bestselling imported beer in the competitive St Petersburg area.
A more diverse beer range
2008 was an important year for Hartwall in the domestic beer market, as its market share in beers swung to growth.
”Our goal is to build up value and respect for beer and the beer market over the long term. Heineken provides us with new expertise and beers for this effort. Heineken beer is a successful premium brand that enjoys excellent growth opportunities in Finland. We will also round out our range with other suitable imported beers,” says Närhinen.
Heineken beer is enjoyed in almost every country in the world. It is the world’s most respected international premium beer brand. In 2008, its global volume grew by 4.7%. Heineken has been brewed since 1873 to the original recipe.
At the beginning of the year, Hartwall’s range of beers was enlarged with Murphy’s Irish Stout and the non-alcoholic Buckler. Tiger, the world’s best-known Asian beer, will also be added to the range in April. Tiger is a pale lager that has been brewed in Singapore since 1932.