Timisoreana, the best-selling beer brand in terms of value in Romania, saw a 2.5% market share increase last year, climbing 4 places in the ranking of best-selling brands, leaving behind rivals such as Bergenbier (InBev), Burger (European Drinks) and Golden Brau (Heineken).
"The rise had to do with several combined factors, but the most visible one was the launch of Timisoreana in 2-litre PET bottles in 2006," said Mihai Barsan, group brand manager of Ursus Breweries, the second largest brewer on the market, holder of the Timisoreana brand.
Although there was demand for this type of packaging, Ursus Breweries introduced its second PET-bottling brand on the market as late as in 2006 (Timisoreana, Ciucas being the first), whereas its main competitors had four and three such PET-bottled brands respectively at the time.
This was a very smart move, considering that beer bottled in plastic containers accounted for around 40% of beer sales in 2006, and now has reached half the market. Additionally, the growth rate of PET-bottled beer sales was several times higher than that of the overall market.
"We thought extensively about whether to launch PET packaging or not, and about how this would affect Timisoreana's image and quality. That is why we made this decision only when the new technologies enabled us to create a packaging that would not hurt the beer's properties throughout its whole shelf life," Barsan added.
Timisoreana is the fastest-growing brand in Ursus Breweries' portfolio. It sold 2.2 million hectolitres in the April 2007-March 2008 fiscal year, up 43% against the same time of the previous year, accounting for an 11.3% market share. Just one year before, the same brand sold around 1.5 million hectolitres, 59% more than previously and had an 8.8% market share. The rise was also aided by the fast growth of international store chains, and by the increase experienced by the beer industry over the last two years.
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