Heineken Belarus has re-branded the beer Bobrov made by the brewery Syabar, says a press release of the company.

The measure is supposed to bring the product image up to date. Now it uses PET packaging Top Star which is a novelty for the Belarusian producer. The solution offers additional protection against accidental opening, penetration of dirt and dust. Bobrov’s basic bottle design has been in place since October 2006. A lot has changed since then and the design stopped matching the brand. Back in 2008 Bobrov was re-branded to emphasize quality. According to the marketing research firm AC Nielsen, Bobrov accounted for 7.4% of Belarus’ beer consumption in November 2009.

Back in December 2008 the company successfully re-launched the brand Rechitskoye (Rechitsapivo company), increasing its share on the home market from 2.1% in December 2008 to 4.3% in November 2009.

Heineken Belarus CEO Henk van Helderen is supposed to resign on 14 January 2010. It will be succeeded by Aleksei Chernyayev, Director General of the Heineken United Breweries. Henk van Helderen successfully supervised the launch of high-quality malting barley cultivation in Belarus. The company also put a lot of efforts into import substitution. Within less than two years Syabar started licensed production of Doctor Diesel, Gosser, and Zlaty Bazant, the first traditional Czech beer made in Belarus. In 2009 the company’s export shot up 80%.

In August 2009 the breweries Syabar and Rechitsapivo were certified by the international network IQNet for compliance with HACCP guidelines. In addition, the Bobruisk and Rechitsa-based breweries entered Heineken’s auditing program. Specialists from Amsterdam and Vienna now regularly perform external audits at the breweries.

According to the state food industry concern Belgospischeprom, in January-November 2009 Syabar turned out 3.814 million decaliters of beer, 13.8% down on January-November 2008. Meanwhile, Rechitsapivo made 0.898 million decaliters of beer, or 63.7% down.

The Syabar brewery became part of Heineken in December 2007. In 2008 the Heineken company bought out the controlling interest in the Belarusian brewer Rechitsapivo. Heineken operates breweries located in 70 countries across the globe.

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