The Moscow Brewing Company will supply Irish Guinness

Global beer brands that have officially left Russia are attracting large distributors. Thus, the Moscow Brewing Company (MPC) decided to start supplying Irish Guinness and has already imported the first batch of the drink. This brand remains very popular, especially in bars, even with increased prices.

IPC will supply Irish beer Guinness Draft, according to data from the Russian Accreditation Agency. In mid-September, the company received a declaration of conformity for this beer, released after February 17. The document applies to bottles, cans, and barrels with volumes from 0.33 liters to 50 liters. The lot size is not specified. Kommersant’s sources in the market confirmed that MPC imported a batch of Guinness Draft, which includes kegs with a capacity of 30 liters. The MPC declined to comment.

MPK was founded in 2008 by Evgeny Kashper and Alexander Lifshitz, the creators of Ivan Taranov Breweries, which were acquired by Heineken in 2005 for approximately $500 million. It operates a plant in Mytishchi with a capacity of 80 million decaliters per year, producing Zhiguli Barnoe, Khamovniki and etc. Imports brands Stiegl, Budweiser, Pabst Blue Ribbon, etc. In 2022, the company’s revenue increased by 15.8%, to 37.66 billion rubles, net profit was 3.29 billion rubles.

Guinness is owned by British Diageo. In Drinks International’s 2022 ranking of the world’s best-selling beer brands, Guinness ranked fourth behind Asahi, Heineken and Peroni Nastro Azzurro. After the outbreak of Russian hostilities in Ukraine, Diageo announced the suspension of sales, and then a reduction in activities in Russia. The distribution of Guinness in Russia was previously handled by Heineken, which also left the local market by selling local assets to the Arnest group. Diageo told Kommersant that it neither directly nor indirectly supplies products to the Russian Federation.

The import of Guinness to Russia nevertheless continues. According to data from market participants, almost 1.5 million liters of this beer were imported in January-June.

This is 15.5% more than in the same period in 2022, but almost two times less than in January-June 2021. The Perekrestok assortment includes Guinness Draft in an aluminum can, imported by Global Import LLC, as follows from the label. X5 Group, which manages Pyaterochka and Perekrestok, says that it has not yet received any proposals for this range from MPC. Global Import did not answer Kommersant.

Igor Khavsky, co-owner of the distributor SWAM Group and the Gletcher brewery, says that Guinness sold in Russia is most likely purchased through European wholesale suppliers. In the case of keg beer, he notes, the container is likely factored into the contract price, since empty kegs cannot be shipped back to the foreign producer.

The founder of the “Taking a Day Off” chain of stores, Nikolai Zhelagin, says that in Russia the cost of Guinness from local suppliers starts from 700 rubles. for 1 l. According to him, MPC, at the expense of Guinness, can expand its coverage of bars and restaurants, where the demand for this beer remains. MPC, adds Mr. Zhelagin, can supply bars with both Guinness and similar-tasting Ballantine from its portfolio, which costs significantly less than Guinness. This way Ballantine will be able to attract more consumers.

According to the founder of the Rakovaya chain of gastronomic bars, Evgeniy Nichipuruk, the demand for Guinness remains significant and bars will not have problems selling beer even at a price of about 1 thousand rubles. per glass.

The brand has many fans, including in Russia, and although there are good analogues on the market, it has still not been possible to replicate the taste of this beer, he says. Vice-President of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers Alexey Nebolsin notes that the start of Guinness supplies by such a large player as MPK, if it offers competitive prices, can have a positive impact on consumers and restaurateurs.

As Igor Khavsky notes, the sale of well-known beer brands that have officially left Russia can support business in the moment, but if the copyright holder returns, the distributor will lose such contracts. SWAM Group, he notes, decided not to import beer without the consent of the manufacturer. According to the national retail audit NielsenIQ, in January-July, beer sales in physical terms decreased by 0.8% year-on-year and increased by 5.3% in money terms.

Anatoly Kostyrev