HEINEKEN SA
HEINEKEN SOUTH AFRICA
Brewing up With the
Perfect Recipe for Success in SA PRODUCTION: David Napier
Global powerhouse brand, Heineken is fully established in South Africa and is ready to push for increased market share. Onboarding new brands and investing heavily in talent, this local and international brewer is consistently focussing on quality to delight customers all over SA and sub-Saharan Africa. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
INDUSTRY FOCUS: FOOD & DRINK
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The world celebrates international beer day each year on August 2. But in South Africa, and around the southern hemisphere, August is not the best month for enjoying a cold beer outside with friends. So, in 2017, a group of beer enthusiasts started South African National Beer Day – a collection of small-scale events, promotions, pairings, specials and mini-festivals held across the country on the first Saturday in February. The idea is to celebrate beer and bring beer lovers together so that all can share in enjoyment of this much-loved beverage. In its first year, Beer Day saw some 50 events run successfully and 2018 followed with more than 80 events showcasing various beers around the country. Beer is big business in South Africa.
A successful mix of major international producers, local craft players, various small-scale production companies, and a large number of home brewers make for the perfect recipe (just like water, hops, barley and yeast). In fact, figures from Stats SA from 2017 found that 2.1% of total household spending in South Africa goes on beer – that’s more than tobacco, veggies and sweets. Beer heritage in the country is mixed and goes back a long way. European settlers brought brewing knowledge to South Africa in the 1600s and early 19th century and this combined with local indigenous methods which included the creation of sorghum beers and Umqombothi – made with maize, maize malt, sorghum malt, yeast and water. Today, the market is dominated by a handful of key international brands
one of which is Heineken. Previously imported as a premium European lager, Heineken is now brewed in a state-ofthe-art facility in Sedibeng, south of Johannesburg’s centre. Using the same recipe as its Dutch creators have used for more than a century, South African’s now enjoy Heineken the same way that their peers do in 192 other countries across the globe. Heineken’s roots go back to 1873 in Amsterdam where a budding young brewer built a brewery and crafted a beer that was centred around outstanding flavour delivered by concentrating on perfect-quality ingredients. In 2016, Heineken South Africa was born, bringing the popular brand into the country as an independent entity. No longer a delicious import, Heineken began to grow its South African market share and add brands to its portfolio,
Simplicity works. The story goes: In 1995, after Maurice and Charles Saatchi left the first ad agency they founded, due to a difference of opinion between them and a group of investors, they opened M&C Saatchi. Within a matter of days. A year later, they had offices in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, New York and Auckland. Their overriding philosophy for the new venture was Brutal Simplicity of Thought – a spirit of entrepreneurship that was entrenched from the start. Today, M&C Saatchi has 23 offices globally, making it the largest independent agency network in the world. When M&C Saatchi Abel opened its doors in Cape Town in 2010 with just 13 people and no clients, it was this philosophy that guided the founding of the agency. Five years later, the agency had grown to become one of the largest in South Africa, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as presence throughout sub-Saharan Africa. With numerous prestigious accolades already in the bag, today the Group consists of M&C Saatchi Abel, Connect & Africa, Creative Spark, Dalmatian & Avatar. And from its humble staff of 13, the Group employees over 190 people, servicing some of the bluest blue-chip clients locally and internationally. So what is it about Brutal Simplicity of Thought that’s made it so attractive to the agency and its partners? The answer is brutally simple: efficiency. In the world of clutter, where people are bombarded with messages every single day, Brutal Simplicity offers an antidote to all the chaos. It is a proven philosophy that echoes in the words of Leornado da Vinci when he said: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Brutal Simplicity has proved itself to be an everlasting truism about life as well as business. So next time you need a solution to your complex business problem, approach M&C Saatchi Abel for their Brutal Simplicity of Thought. It works.
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M&CSAATCHI ABEL/24677/E
Delivering on our promise. Again. Six years ago, one of the world’s most iconic brands put their trust in one of South Africa’s youngest agencies, and we made them a promise: to deliver both in the short term and the long. A promise of partnership and dedication, to ensure their trust will never be taken for granted. Six years on, Heineken® has earned the top spot in Sunday Times Top Brands for two consecutive years. We’re proud to say we’ve kept our promise and will continue to do so.
M&CSAATCHI ABeL mcsaatchiabel.co.za
INDUSTRY FOCUS: FOOD & DRINK
becoming a standalone beer and cider business in partnership with Namibia Breweries Ltd. Among the Heineken South Africa brands are other world-renowned products including Sol, Miller Genuine Draft, Amstel, Windhoek and local lager Tafel. The company’s newest offerings include Strongbow cider and Soweto Gold lager. In South Africa, Heineken owes much of its success to Ruud van den Eijnden who played an instrumental role in starting up the local business after coming out of Europe to take the role of Managing Director. After three successful years, van den Eijnden has returned to the Netherlands to remain with the Heineken group. In July 2018 he looked back at his successes with Leadership magazine, saying: “For the Heineken beer brand, South Africa is now the fifth
biggest country in the world.” In October 2018 it was announced that Gerrit van Loo, a Heineken veteran most recently of Heineken Ethiopia, would replace van den Eijnden and focus on taking the business to the next level. BREWING BEST BRANDS In September 2017, Heineken moved to strengthen its hand in local markets by purchasing Soweto Brewing Company, owners of the popular Soweto Gold brand. The business was founded in Soweto by Ndumiso Madlala and Josef Schmid with the goal of going global. Globally, Heineken has been on a ‘craft drive’ in recent years, purchasing a number of smaller brewers with a strong group of followers to build its brand and become more connected with drinkers across its geographies. In the UK, Heineken purchased a stake in London’s
Beavertown Brewery and the company said it would use the £40 million from the sale to finance construction of a large new brewery which could create 150 new jobs and upscale production in a big way. Also in 2018, Heineken bought a stake in Spanish craft brewer La Cibeles and pledged to increase its production facilities. In Italy, Heineken announced an agreement with Hibu Azienda Agricola (Birrificio Hibu), a craft brewery and brew pub in Burago di Molgora (MB) in the north of the country. Back in 2015, American brewer, Lagunitas, sold a stake to Heineken on the agreement that the business would be allowed to continue as normal – this has been the theme of Heineken’s craft strategy. In Soweto, Gold was launched with a party that saw football icon Doctor Khumalo and champion boxer Dingaan Thobela turn out to support.
// I BELIEVE HEINEKEN SOUTH AFRICA’S MANAGEMENT TEAM REPRESENTS THE PERFECT MIX OF LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WORKING IN AFRICA //
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HEINEKEN SOUTH AFRICA
Local tavern owners, consumers and various company bosses revelled in the smooth tasting lager with the founders unveiling the new tag line - Born in Soweto, brewed for all. The Soweto project came just a year after Heineken brought Strongbow apple cider to the South African market. Regular flavour was complemented by the introduction of Gold Apple and Red Berries and was aimed at urban South African’s who live life at high-speed but need to enjoy relaxation. BUBBLING LEADERSHIP In Q4 2018, leadership changes were announced at Heineken South Africa. after welcoming Gerrit van Loo, the company was pleased to announce that Millicent Maroga was appointed as the company’s new Corporate Affairs Director, tasked with driving Heineken South Africa’s sustainability programme, ‘Brewing A Better World’. “We are incredibly pleased to welcome Millicent to the Heineken family. She has a wealth of experience in strategic communications and
corporate affairs management, having previously been head of the Old Mutual Foundation, and worked for SAB as a Public Policy Manager and Corporate Affairs Manager,” says van Loo. He said that the team is now well set to drive forwards, aiming to become the number one brand in the country. “I believe Heineken South Africa’s Management Team represents the perfect mix of local and international knowledge and experience working in Africa,” he says. And it’s not just at the top of the pyramid where investment is happening. Heineken South Africa recently announced that it has welcomed 28 learners who will take part in the company’s Packaging Learnership programme. The 12-month programme will see the learners attain a NQF level 3 packaging qualification. The hope is that the programme will drive sustainability and transformation within the business, building a talent pool for the future and bring more female workers into a maledominated industry. “Exposing the learners to both
theoretical and practical on-the-job training early on, translates to agile future employees who are skilled, and prepared for most challenges in their chosen career paths,” says Supply Chain Academy Manager, Thandie Letshabo. “It important that the programme reflects women’s potential capabilities and contribution in the industry,” she adds. It is this type of investment that has seen Heineken named among the country’s Top 500 – a publication that recognises the best managed organisations in South Africa. On South Africa National Beer Day (Feb 2nd), perhaps Heineken should be your choice. Part of a global company that is proud to be in South Africa, Heineken SA is a business that is without doubt moving the brewing industry in the region forward. Pick up next month for more from Gerrit van Loo.
WWW.HEINEKEN.COM/ZA
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