Several companies label their beer as Spanish or Italian even if the product is made in the United Kingdom.
The popularity of beer brand Exceptional Madrid is undermining Carlsberg’s success in the United Kingdom, as stated by the general director of the Danish brewing company to the British newspaper ‘The Telegraph’.
Arrival in UK bars in 2020, the Madrí Exceptional brand focuses on Spanish culture and presents itself as ‘the soul of Madrid’.
However, beer is Made in the English county of Yorkshire by the Canadian-American multinational Molson Coors, which also owns brands such as Doom Bar, Carling and Blue Moon, among others.
According to data experts at NIQ, company world leader in consumer intelligenceMadrí Exceptional generated sales of 93.3 million pounds sterling (about 109 million euros) last year.
The Molson Coors website also notes that, in the second quarter of 2024, Madrí Exceptional generated the third highest sales revenue among all the beers of the lager type sold in stores in the United Kingdom.
In response to these figures, the CEO of rival brand Carlsberg, Jacob Aarup-Andersen, told ‘The Telegraph’: “We are witnessing a high competition continued in beers around the world. “The battlefield is fierce in the UK.”
“There is no doubt that one of the brands that is doing well in the UK It is Exceptional Madrid. If you look at the market share, they have done well. I think they have found a good proposal. So, you have to congratulate them“.
Several experts believe that the sharp rise in popularity of Madrí Exceptional is due to a marketing push in early 2022, a time when concerns around restrictions due to COVID-19 had decreased significantly in the United Kingdom.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the brand tried to become synonymous with vacation in the sun, a coveted dream by many Britons who were emerging from successive confinements.
A strategy to gain popularity that pays off
However, the use of false allusion to continental Europe is not a marketing strategy used solely by Molson Coors. For example, Heineken brews beer in Manchester Italian Birra Moretti for the British market.
San Miguel Corporation, a conglomerate founded in the Philippines with headquarters in Spainit is also manufactured by Carlsberg in Northampton for British customers.
However, despite being manufactured in Yorkshire, Madrí Exceptional has a Spanish link. Specifically, it was created in collaboration with La Sagra, a craft brewery Spanish company that is also owned by Molson Coors.
Earlier this year, the international general director of the Spanish brewer Estrella Galicia stated that the advertising of Madrí Exceptional she wasn’t “very honest”.
“They have made a very good job in terms of marketingthat’s clear. However, everything is a bit complicated, because people think they are consuming a Spanish beer, but they are not,” Aitor de Artaza told ‘The Telegraph’.
In the UK there are rules prohibiting misleading advertising, although it is acceptable for the breweriesbe inspired by other countries and cultures. Molson Coors has not yet responded to Euronews’ requests for comment.
Carlsberg, meanwhile, filed an earnings report earlier this week. The company’s cost reduction offset the impact on the company’s sales. weak consumer demandso the company raised its profit forecasts for the full year.
The total volume of beers that were soldfell 1.7% in Western Europe during the first half of the year.
