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THE SWEDISH, FINNISH AND NORWEGIAN MARKET FOR BEER
The beer product segment has grown the last couple of years in Sweden, Finland and Norway as markets. We have seen a trend in all three markets where large main-stream products loose relevant market share and where niche products are progressing. We expect to see continuous development of this particular trend and we think it will be more and more request for complementary products in mid and high price range. When it comes to beer consumption, with higher alcoholic beverages, the consumers up north prefer consuming the product on evenings and weekends rather than during work time.
THE MONOPOLY TENDER PROCESS FOR BEER
When it comes to beer as product segment, majority of new products is listed via the tender system. Since all three markets is monopoly driven, purchase process is pretty similar. Systembolaget, Vinmonopolet and ALKO are the name of the monopoly distributors of beer, and each organization purchase from licensed importers. The normal procedure of the tender system is that the client announces to the importers what type of beer products the client look out for. The importer discuss with its contact network on the supplier side, followed by starting putting together written offer of beer products that correspond to the announcement. The client (for instance Systembolaget) chooses among the written offers, which products to evaluate. The wines that pass to the next step will participate in a blind tasting, where x number of tasters (depending if the client is Systembolaget, ALKO or Vinmonopolet) will judge the beer products and select which to buy. Normally they only select one, especially when it comes to permanent listings. A permanent listing is either at least 6 months (Systembolaget) or 12 months (Vinmonopolet and ALKO).
CONCEALED WINES PRO-ACTIVE WORK WITH PRODUCT SEGMENT BEER
Concealed Wines is an established importer working with product segments like Wine, Spirits, Beer and Cider. We work very professionally with our clients, and we work pro-active in order to always do the best possible work on tenders. Furthermore we work pro-active running meetings with our clients, in order to help our clients to come up with ideas what to ask for next. Many times our clients are very keen to evaluate new products and listing to importers and suppliers sharing information about trends and ideas from the international beer market. In order to be able to work pro-active with our suppliers, it is crucial that both parts invest a bit of time and dedication to the market. We normally work on 2-3 years plan with our suppliers, since we know from experience that it takes a bit of time to enter our market, but once you get in to the market the business can be very long-term.
In order to find out more about the Nordic beer markets, the tender system and Concealed Wines, please contact Calle Nilsson at calle.nilsson@concealedwines.com .