Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

is the world's third largest

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

market with total volume at 139 million hectoliters, and per capita consumption 61 liters in 2016.

History

The tradition of brewing in Brazil dates back to German immigration in the early nineteenth century. The first breweries date from the 1830s, the brand Bohemia is claimed to be the first Brazilian beer, with production starting in 1853 in the city of Petrópolis,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and is the oldest Brazilian beer which is still under production (now owned by

Anheuser–Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters in ...

). Naturally, many breweries appeared and disappeared in that period like Ritter from

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

and Imperial ''Fábrica de Cerveja Nacional'' from

. Two important brands,

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

and

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

, started production in the 1880s.

Market

Brazil is the world's third largest beer market, behind China and the US, with beer volumes in 2015 pegged at 139 million hectoliters. Per capita consumption has declined, dropping from 67 liters in 2012 to around 61 liters in 2016. Despite the weak performance in recent years, outlooks expect per head consumption to increase slightly out to 2021. The on-trade channel accounted for 60% of sales in 2016. As is the case with the market's overall volumes, and per capita consumption, on-trade sales have been adversely impacted by an unfavorable economic situation.

Competitive environment

The majority of the market belongs to AmBev, the owner of the ''Brahma'', ''Antarctica'', ''Bohemia'' and ''

Skol Skol Lager was developed originally by Ind Coope breweries in Alloa, Central Scotland. In 1958, Graham's Continental was launched (based upon a local brew called Graham's Golden) and quickly changed to Graham's Skol to give a Scandinavian impre ...

'' brands. Brazil's largest brewer was formed in 1999 from the merger of the two biggest brands, Brahma and Antarctica. In 2004, Ambev merged with Belgium's

Interbrew Interbrew is subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is based in Breda, Netherlands. It has one subsidiary, Ambev S.A. of São Paulo, Brazil. Brands Interbrew brands have historically included Budweiser, Stella Artois, Boddingtons, Beck's, S ...

(

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ir ...

, Becks, Staropramen and many others) to form the world's largest brewer, now known as

InBev InBev () is a brewing company that resulted from the merger between Belgium-based company Interbrew and Brazilian brewer AmBev which took place in 2004. It existed independently until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which formed Anheus ...

. After the merger, Grupo Schincariol became the largest Brazilian-owned brewery in the country. In 2011, the company became a subsidiary of Japanese beverage company Kirin Brewery Company, and subsequently changed its name to Brasil Kirin. In 2017 Kirin sold this business to Heineken NV for a transaction value of US$1.1 billion. In 2002,

Molson Coors The Molson Coors Beverage Company is an American-Canadian multinational drink and brewing company incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law and headquartered in Golden, Colorado and Montreal, Quebec. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 ...

bought Brazil's second largest brewery

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

. In 2006, the Mexican FEMSA Cerveza acquired 68% of Kaiser Brewery from Molson Coors. Molson Coors still holds 15% of Kaiser brewery shares, and

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Feb ...

holds the remaining 17%. In 2006, FEMSA Cerveza released the Mexican brand

Sol Sol or SOL may refer to: Astronomy * The Sun Currency * SOL Project, a currency project in France * French sol, or sou * Argentine sol * Bolivian sol, the currency of Bolivia from 1827 to 1864 * Peruvian sol, introduced in 1991 * Peruvian sol ...

in the Brazilian market to compete to the biggest Inbev brands with poor results. In 2010, Heineken bought all FEMSA's brewery including the Brazilian unit. Company market share in 2009: Ambev (Inbev) (70%), Grupo Schincariol (11,6%), Petrópolis brewery (9,8%), Heineken (6,9%), others (1,73%). Brand market share in 2005: Skol (32,6%), Brahma (20,4%), Antarctica (13,6%), Nova Schin (10,2%), Kaiser (8,9%). There are a number of

microbreweries Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

in Brazil, the emergence of which are a relatively recent phenomenon. Some of the better renowned microbreweries include; *

Baden Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France ...

(established in 1999) * Eisenbahn * Wäls * Colorado * DaDo Bier (The first craft brewery in Brazil established in 1995 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul) * Cervejaria Backer Curitiba and Blumenau are cities with several breweries: Curitiba: WayBeer, Ogre Beer, BodeBrown, Wensky Beer, Klein Bier, GaudenBier, Cervejas Pagan, Bierhoff, Morada and Asgard. Blumenau: Eisenbahn (Currently controlled by the Heineken Group), Bierland and some soft American lager breweries. Belo Horizonte is also becoming a major microbrewering pole in the country, with several recognized brands such as Backer, Wals and many others.

Imports

Over the past decade Brazilian drinkers are enjoying more imported beer. Leading supply destinations include but are not limited to: Mexico, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Uruguay. These imports are a lot more expensive than locally brewed beers. However, there are a growing number of bars and beer shops dedicating themselves to selling a large range of craft and imported beer. Some international brands are actually produced in Brazil, such as

and

, but all are dedicated to the premium market with very small market share.

Economy

Beer is the most competitive sector of the alcoholic drinks market in Brazil, and the big global beer companies like

and

FEMSA Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V., doing business as FEMSA, is a Mexican multinational beverage and retail company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. It operates the largest independent Coca-Cola bottling group in the world and the ...

compete strongly for market share.

Carnival

In the

Brazilian Carnival The Carnival of Brazil ( pt, Carnaval do Brasil, ) is an annual Brazilian festival held the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. During Lent, Roman Catholics and ...

period there is an explosion in beer consumption. In these 4 days, 400 million liters (or around 4% of the yearly production) are consumed. In November with the approach of summer, the manufacture and investment in

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

triples. International tourists find that domestic and local beers are much less expensive than imported brands.

References

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