No international brand has made it into the exclusive club of those whose annual sales exceed 50 million euros, while domestic brands such as Timisoreana, Bergenbier, Golden Brau, Ursus and Burger have all overshot this mark, by as much as tens of millions of euros in some cases, according to a survey conducted by ZF.
Whether part of multinationals' portfolios or developed by the biggest independent brewers with several hundred years' experience, or much younger, domestic brands are the leaders on a market that has topped 1.2bn euros.
Whereas ten years ago these brands sold several hundred thousand hectolitres or even less, in late 2007 more than five domestic beer brands generated sales worth above one million hectolitres, which could translate into at least 50m euros.
Timisoreana, the best-selling beer brand in Romania, in 2002 generated less than 10% of Ursus Breweries sales, while in late 2007 the same brand accounted for almost half of volumes sold by the domestic branch of SABMiller group. With a sales volume of 2.2 million hectolitres in 2007, Timisoreana could derive sales worth 130-150m euros, according to ZF estimates. In terms of volume, Timisoreana sales surged by 43% in the last fiscal year, and by 51% in terms of value.
Bergenbier, one of Timisoreana's main rivals domestically, generates almost half of InBev's domestic sales, according to previous statements by Mihai Ghyka, the company's former general manager. As a result, out of a sales volume of 3.9 million hectolitres InBev registered last year, Bergenbier sold over 1.9 million hectolitres.
The best-selling brand in Heineken Romania's portfolio is Golden Brau, with turnover worth around 100m euros, according to ZF estimates.
Starting this year, Heineken Romania's portfolio will also include Sovata, Dracula and Neumarkt brands previously owned by Bere Mures. The production facilities Bere Mures held until the first half of this year had an annual capacity of 1.6 million hectolitres, and registered sales of 1.2 million hectolitres last year. After Neumarkt's inclusion in Heineken Romania's portfolio, Burger beer, part of the portfolio of European Drinks, owned by Micula brothers, is the only independent brand with large volumes that competes with multinationals' brands.
Ursus is the best-selling brand on the on-premise segment both in terms of volume and value, according to a 2007 survey conducted by MEMRB. In overall retail Ursus held a 7% market share, followed by Ciucas, which accounted for 6% of the total domestic beer market.
The only domestic branch of a multinational that does not include any Romanian brand in its portfolio is URBB, controlled by Carlsberg Danish group. URBB, known domestically via the Tuborg and Skol brands, has only international or regional brands positioned on the premium segment in its portfolio.
Beer market
Last year exceeded 1.2bn euros and reached a volume of 19.4 million hectolitres, up 9.6% on the previous year when it hit a sales volume of 17.7 million hectolitres
Growth in 2007 was smaller than the advance registered in 2006 due to lower sales posted in the last quarter of 2007
This year, the main domestic brewers, Heineken Romania, Ursus Breweries, InBev Romania, European Drinks and URBB, expect the market to rise by approximately 5%
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