Boundary Road Brewery rolls out the barrels to keen duopoly-breaking demand
Monday 12 December 2011, 8:49AM
By Boundary Road Brewery
212 views
As it rolls out the first kegs of its market-challenging tap beers for New Zealand bars, the Boundary Road Brewery says it has been amazed at the high level of pent-up demand.
“We expected that our market entry would be well received, but demand has well exceeded our initial estimates,” says Julian Davidson, CEO of Independent Liquor. “It is now more clear than ever to us that New Zealand consumers were keen to see competition against the existing cosy duopoly in the tap beer market.”
The first kegs are now hitting bars, pubs and restaurants around the country, giving the estimated $900 million retail tap beer market the opportunity to try premium international beers such as Carlsberg on tap.
The Brewery began producing pack beer in 1989 with the aim of bringing more choice and competition to the market and it accounts for 11% of all on pack beer sales, or one in every nine beers in New Zealand.
“We aim to continue this tradition of bringing attractive options to the New Zealand consumer with the launch of tap beers into a market that has until now been dominated by Lion and DB. Our launch is long overdue and we expect it will result in better service, better products and better quality,” said Mr Davidson.
“By entering this market we aim to provide the channel more value, choice and flexibility than customers are currently accustomed to. On-premise operators have been very receptive to our offer and we already have more than 100 accounts signed up.
“This is a particularly encouraging start as we are entering a tightly guarded market, and we look forward to growing a significant market share over time.
“The price of tap beer has seen a steady increase over the years which in part, is reflective of a market which only has two main suppliers. We hope that our entry will result in improved service levels and more competitive prices, delivering value to a channel that has been in decline,” says Mr Davidson.
For the first time, international premium brands such as Carlsberg and Kingfisher are available on tap along with NZ Pure, the Boundary Road Brewery craft range and Wild Buck New Zealand Ale. The launch into the tap beer market is another sign that the Boundary Road Brewery is a serious contender, bringing innovation to the New Zealand beer market.