buying & supplying drinks
Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk 17 August 2019 | The Grocer | 35Waitrose said it was focused on ‘removing duplication and differentiating our range’Budweiser Brewing
Group faces mass of
delists in Waitrose
Daniel Woolfson
Waitrose has taken
the axe to a slew of
Budweiser Brewing
Group (formerly AB
InBev) brands in a major
cull of the brewing
giant’s SKUs, The Grocer
can reveal.
Exclusive data shows
the upmarket retailer
has completely ditched
Budweiser, Beck’s and
Bud Light, and signifi-
cantly reduced the pres-
ence of Stella Artois,
Corona and Hoegaarden
on its shelves [Edge
by Ascential 52 w/e 12
August].
The delists bring the
number of Budweiser
Brewing Group SKUs
on Waitrose’s shelves
from 30 in April to 13 –
more than halving its
presence.
Confirming the
move, a spokeswomanfor Waitrose told The
Grocer: “We’re constantly
reviewing our ranges to
ensure the products we
sell are absolutely right
for customers.”
Its focus was on
“removing duplication
and differentiating our
range from our competi-
tors” she added.
Budweiser Brewing
Group declined to
comment.
Waitrose has struggled
to grow beer and cider
sales over the past year.
The Grocer reported in
June that its value sales
in the category fell 1.4%
in the 52 weeks to 24
February 2019 [Kantar].
Recently it has
embarked on a major
push into craft and
posher beers, moving
firmly away from main-
stream brands to try and
further premiumise itsbeer and cider offer.
It added a mass of
new SKUs from smaller
brands such as Wiper
& True, Fourpure,
Beavertown and Hawkes
in April, as well exclu-
sive and limited-edition
brews such as a Black IPA
from Fuller’s.
Budweiser Brewing
Group wasn’t the only
major supplier to lose
out – though it was the
hardest hit. The likes of
Adnams, Foster’s, Tiger
and Cobra have lost some
space too.
Waitrose isn’t the only
major supermarket push-
ing hard into craft beer
this year. Last week
Tesco revamped its range
for the second time in
just three months, add-
ing a raft of experimental
brews, including many
stouts and West Coast-
style IPAs.Dragon Tree has made its
return in 250ml cans
Lanchester Wines has re-
launched its kombucha
brand, Dragon Tree, after
16 years off the market.
The drink is billed as a
“gently sparkling fruity
tea with natural flavours
of hibiscus and rosehip”,
with “a light and fruity
taste similar to strawber-
ries and cream”.
It was last seen on UK
retailers’ shelves 16 years
ago, when it was sold in a
sleeved glass bottle.
“We originally
launched Dragon Tree
Kombucha in 2003 and
Lanchester Wines
revives kombucha
brand after 16 years
while sales did well,
kombucha itself wasn’t
well known and the
health drinks category
was in its early infancy,”
said Lanchester Wines
MD Tony Cleary. “The re-
launch comes at a time
when kombucha sales
are soaring.”
Each can contains
roughly 50% of an adult’s
recommended daily
intake of vitamins C, B6,
B12, thiamin, folic acid,
niacin and biotin.
This was “vital to
maintain in Dragon Tree
mark two and so we’ve
worked with natural
ingredients to create a
drink that’s not only full
of health benefits but
actually tastes great too”,
added C lea r y.
It has rolled out in
250ml cans, with a calo-
rie count of 93 calories
per can.Fecovita branded wines
will roll out into the UKBenchmark Drinks has
signed up to distribute
wines from Fecovita,
Argentina’s largest wine
producer, in the UK and
Ireland.
The deal will see
Benchmark take
responsibility for the
supplier’s bulk wine and
brands such as Bodega
Estancia Mendoza, which
will debut this October in
the UK.
Benchmark MD Paul
Schaafsma said given
Fecovita’s “size and scale
and its strong desire to
grow internationally”
he was “confident we
Benchmark to offer
Fecovita wine in UK
offer a highly competi-
tive proposition to UK
retailers”.
Fecovita currently sells
roughly 270 million litres
of wine, presiding over
approximately 30% of
the Argentinian domestic
market.THE DRAGON RETURNS
While sales did well, kombucha itself wasn’t well known
and the health drinks category was in its early infancy –
Tony Cleary, MD, Lanchester Wines