To retain a positive outlook despite the recession that has continued to hit most sectors of the economy since the Q1 of last year, the beer industry is striving to break all marketing barriers premised on social and cultural nuances, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.
For three years, the beer sectoral group of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has continued to sustain a campaign against some marketing barriers to beer consumption through a summit.
The purpose of the campaign, according to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, “has been to highlight and share contemporary knowledge on the wonderful product called beer” and break social-cultural, religious, gender barrier against consumption of beer.
At this year’s Beer Summit, the third edition held at the Eko Hotel, Lagos, recently, there were still concerns on the abuse of beer despite the growth the brands have continued to enjoy against the backdrop of the seeming economic recession that has hit other Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs).
For industry analysts, the beer sector is one of the healthiest under the FMCGs segment.
According to the Managing Director of The Nielson Company West Africa, a global research firm, Mr Lampe Omoyele, beer is among few exceptions that recorded growth in consumption in 2015, with +6.1 percent value growth in the year despite economic downturn. However, 2016, described as year of ‘Perfect Storm’ by Omoyele, was not favourable to all the sectors, yet the alcoholic beverage and telcos sectors remain the least affected with decline status standing at -8.9 and -6.2 per cent.
With these, the leading beer maker, Nigerian Breweries, is leaving no stone unturned with its beer summit to preach responsible drinking, correct myths and wrong perception about beer consumption.
However, Nigerian Breweries has been leading the onslaught against some of the underlying barriers against marketing, using influencers and professionals from academics, food and nutrition science, social and media circuit to underscore the role of beer in sustaining socio-cultural cohesion of people across ages.
According to one of Nigeria’s first indigenous advertising practitioners and veteran copy writer, Mr. Ted Mukoro, like all enjoyable and exciting things made by nature– alcohol, sex, sports, dancing – beer can be irresponsibly abused or over-used. “Nothing enjoyable is bad until put to the wrong use,” he said. On that note, he maintained that beer is certainly the least alcoholic of all alcoholic drinks, and also the healthiest and most nutritious.
A Professor of Applied Microbiology and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Bartholomew Okolo, in his paper on the Social and Cultural Roles of Beer in Society, explained that in all societies, beer plays an important role not only in major life-cycle events, such as birth and death, but also in minor everyday transitions. According to him, in studies conducted in various parts of the world, beer drinking venues have been identified as the most important venues for promoting interactions and friendships between people from diverse backgrounds.
“The Nigerian beer parlour is an example of such an institution where you could find a lawyer having a beer next to a plumber, or a doctor having a beer next to a tailor. You could also find a professor having a beer next to a banker. In such circumstances, people can offer all sorts of support and even professional advice at no cost. It is possible to explore such settings for other benefits including security and commerce, for example in the creation of cooperatives societies,” he said.
Okolo added that alcoholic drinks are a symbolic vehicle for identifying, describing, constructing and manipulating cultural values and interpersonal relationships. In all cultures, he remarked, different alcoholic beverages are classified in terms of their social meaning. Every drink therefore connotes a symbolic meaning and conveys a message.
Also, former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, who chaired the occasion, noted that research shows that beer contains xanthohumol that inhibit cancer-causing enzymes. “I have always wondered about the French. You see their diet consist of rich, highly fatty foods, wine and those cigarettes. Yet, their rate of heart disease is significantly less than the rest of the world. This has been credited to red wine and the antioxidants it contains, which helps prevent heart attacks. Interestingly, beer has just as many antioxidants as red wine,” he said.
Duke also added that beer is a lot safer than the local bottled water. “If you find yourself at someplace where you are advised not to drink the local water, the local beer is always a safer bet. It is a lot safer than the local bottled water. So just follow the rules of beer drinking and you will be fine,” he advised.
According to him, beer is not just a social lubricant, but a cultural spice that brings the right taste out of all celebrations.
On the other hand, there is still concern on consumption of beer among women demography, a TV Presenter, Miss Stephanie Coker said, “As a young woman, I’m very conscious of my stomach and waste size. Many women do share this concern and consciousness. I found it so intriguing that a group of Nigerian women, ranging from 22 to 55 in age could have discussions about fashion, travel and entertainment over a bottle of beer but still very shy about their association with beer because of unproven negative attributes and age long myth that it is not cool for ladies to be seen enjoying beer. Maybe this is a Nigerian thing because it is not the case with those who invented protocol in Britain and other civilised climes.”
However, she explained the healthy side of beer and the ingredients: “What is beer made of? Beer is made up Hops, Barley, yeast and water. Of all the four major ingredients, water constitutes over 90 per cent. Although I just enjoy my cold beer because of the smoothness of Heineken for instance, I have recently found out that Beer does have a lot of health benefits. Thankfully, benefits inherent in beer I have been educated, can only be enjoyed when we consumed moderately. My excitement therefore is that I usually take three cans or two of the medium bottles a day. It therefore means that I have been benefiting from the nutritional values of beer and I think I am doing great health wise.”
Competitive landscape
According to Euro monitor report, Nigerian Breweries Plc maintained its dominant position in beer in Nigeria in 2015 with a 65 per cent total volume share. This very strong position was attributed to the company’s ownership of the country’s four leading beer brands, Star, Gulder, Goldberg and 33 Export, all of which are local brands that have managed to establish strong brand loyalty. According the report, 33 Export was added to its portfolio in 2014 when the company acquired Consolidated Breweries Plc, which was also owned by its parent company, Heineken NV, enabling it to further increase its volume share. The company also holds a good spread of other strong brands, notably, Maltina, Heineken, and Fayrouz.
