Managing International Marketing Communications
Beer Industry
Introduction:
Beer is the world's most consumed and probably the oldest of alcoholic beverages; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea.[5] It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains.
Today, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers.
The strength of beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume.
Beer forms part of the culture of beer-drinking nations and is associated with social traditions such as beer festivals.

Key trends:
The world beer market is highly fragmented and ripe for consolidation with the top twenty players accounting for less than half of sales. The global beer industry has also been slow to internationalize. Many of the world's largest brewers, such as Anheuser Busch and Miller are still reliant on their domestic markets, where growth opportunities are limited, and have consequently been seeking to expand abroad. Anheuser-Busch generates only about 15% (fifteen) of its volume sales outside the US, in contrast to Heineken and Interbrew which each earn over 85% (eighty five) of their revenue in foreign markets.
Beer consumption in the well established markets of western Europe and North America is stagnant or in decline, whereas the emerging markets of South America, central and eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific (especially China) offer exciting growth prospects in the longer term, despite the present difficulties in the wake of recent economic turmoil. China is expected to overtake the USas the world's largest beer market by 2000, and Brazil is likely to soon overhaul Germany in third place.

Competitors:
Busiest Players
While the world's largest brewers will continue to acquire smaller operators to further their international ambitions, especially in emerging markets, some larger deals may be on the