The world's second-largest beer maker Heineken has entered the Ecuadorian beer market by acquiring a majority stake in the beer brand, Biela Ecuador.
As a part of the deal, Heineken will also market its portfolio of premium and international brands in Ecuador.
Commenting on the acquisition, Marc Busain, President Americas at Heineken, said, "We are pleased to announce our investment in Ecuador. Favourable demographics, flourishing tourism industry and GDP growth, it [Ecuador] offers a lot of potential to grow our premium offering, led by the Heineken brand."
In due course, Heineken also plans to brew Heineken beer locally.
A Well-Known Name
Biela is one of the well-known names in the Ecuadorian beer market.
Its brewery, located in Guayaquil in Ecuador, is equipped with state-of-the-art brewing and packaging systems.
The Ecuadorian beer market presents a promising opportunity for Heineken, with a current size of 6 million hectolitres per year, and a relatively low consumption per capita of 39 litres when compared to other South American countries.
Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.