AB InBev Efes localizes production of some popular beer brands in Russia
MOSCOW. Aug 5 (Interfax) - AB InBev Efes, the largest brewing company in Rsusia, has localized production of imported beer brands Spaten, Franziskaner, Leffe Blonde and Brune.
The decision to localize was made due to logistics difficulties that are being experienced everywhere on the market, with the aim of ensuring the continuity of commercial processes and availability of product, the company said in a press release. The localized brands are now produced at the company's breweries in Ulyanovsk, Kaluga, Omsk, Volzhsky, Saransk, Klin and Ivanovo.
Spaten, Franziskaner and Leffe are some of the most popular imported brands in Russia, and by localizing their production the company has managed to maintain broad representation of products in all sales changes while ensuring affordable prices and quality, AB InBev Efes marketing director Olga Gavrilenko said.
The Gorbatov Federal Food Systems Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Technical University of Munich, where comparative analysis was done, confirmed that the organoleptic, physical and chemical properties of the localized and imported brands are identical, the company said.
In addition to localizing production of imported brands, AB InBev Efes said it is also continuing its strategy of diversifying its portfolio.
It was reported that Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has decided to sell its non-controlling stake in joint venture AB InBev Efes, which combines the assets of the Belgian brewing giant and Turkey's Anadolu Efes in Russia and Ukraine.
AB InBev said it is holding negotiations with partner Anadolu Efes to acquire this stake.
AB InBev Efes was formed in 2018 as a result of the merger of the Russian and Ukrainian businesses of Anadolu Efes and Anheuser-Busch InBev. The legal merger was finalized in March 2019 with the merger of JSC Moscow-Efes Brewery into JSC Sun InBev, which was renamed JSC AB InBev Efes.
AB InBev Efes overtook Carlsberg to become the leader on the Russian beer market in 2019. The company's brands include Spaten, Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Klinskoye and Stary Melnik iz Bochonka, among others. AB InBev Efes has eleven breweries in Russia and three in Ukraine.
AB InBev Efes saw its net profit jump 130% to 5.04 billion rubles in 2021 on revenue up 11.1% to 85.38 billion rubles, the SPARK-Interfax showed.