Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

is the world's third largest

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

market with total volume at 139 million hectoliters, and per capita consumption 61 liters in 2016.

History

The tradition of brewing in Brazil dates back to German immigration in the early nineteenth century. The first breweries date from the 1830s. Bohemia is claimed to be the first Brazilian beer, with production starting in 1853 in the city of

Petrópolis Petrópolis (), also known as the Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 Brazilian census, Petrópolis mun ...

, in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, and is the oldest still in production (now owned by

Anheuser–Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest brewer in the world, and in 2023, was ranked 72nd in the ''Forbes'' Global 2000. Additio ...

). Many breweries appeared and disappeared in that period, like Ritter from

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

and Imperial ''Fábrica de Cerveja Nacional'' from

. Two important brands,

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

and

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

, started production in the 1880s.

Market

Brazil is the world's third largest beer market, behind China and the US, with beer volumes in 2015 pegged at 139 million hectoliters. Per capita consumption has declined, dropping from 67 liters in 2012 to around 61 liters in 2016. Despite the weak performance in recent years, outlooks expect per head consumption to increase slightly out to 2021. The on-trade channel accounted for 60% of sales in 2016. As is the case with the market's overall volumes, and per capita consumption, on-trade sales have been adversely impacted by an unfavorable economic situation.

Competitive environment

The majority of the market belongs to AmBev, the owner of the ''Brahma'', ''Antarctica'', ''Bohemia'' and ''

Skol Skol is an international lager brand produced by different companies in different parts of the world. The name is the English language variant of the Scandinavian drink toast "skål". For a time, the Hägar the Horrible cartoon character wa ...

'' brands. Brazil's largest brewer was formed in 1999 from the merger of the two biggest brands, Brahma and Antarctica. In 2004, Ambev merged with Belgium's

Interbrew Interbrew is subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is based in Breda, Netherlands. It has one subsidiary, Ambev S.A. of São Paulo, Brazil. Brands Interbrew brands have historically included Budweiser, Stella Artois, Boddingtons Brewery, Boddi ...

(

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( , ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent Alcohol by volume, ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is sold in many EU countrie ...

, Becks,

Staropramen Staropramen Brewery (Pivovary Staropramen s.r.o.) in the Smíchov district of Prague is the second largest brewery in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1869 and the brand name Staropramen, literally meaning "old spring", was registered in ...

and many others) to form the world's largest brewer, now known as

InBev InBev () was a brewing company that resulted from the merger between Belgium-based company Interbrew and Brazilian brewer AmBev which took place in 2004. It existed independently until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which formed Anheu ...

. After the merger, Grupo Schincariol became the largest Brazilian-owned brewery in the country. In 2011, the company became a subsidiary of Japanese beverage company

Kirin Brewery Company is a Japanese beer and beverage holding company. It is known for brands such as Kirin Beer, Kirin Lemon, Mets, and Gogo no Kōcha. The predecessor of the company, the Japan Brewery Company, was founded in Yokohama in 1885 by William Henry Tal ...

, and subsequently changed its name to

Brasil Kirin Brasil Kirin S.A. was a Brazilian brewery and drink company, the second largest in the country after AmBev. Founded in 1939 as Schincariol, the company was purchased in 2011 by the Kirin Company. In 2017, Kirin sold the company to Heineken N.V ...

. In 2017 Kirin sold this business to Heineken NV for a transaction value of US$1.1 billion. In 2002,

Molson Coors Molson Coors Beverage Company is a Canadian-American Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Mo ...

bought Brazil's second largest brewery

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

. In 2006, the Mexican

FEMSA Cerveza Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V., doing business as FEMSA, is a Mexican multinational beverage and retail company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. It operates the largest independent Coca-Cola bottling group in the world and the la ...

acquired 68% of Kaiser Brewery from Molson Coors. Molson Coors still holds 15% of Kaiser brewery shares, and

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...

holds the remaining 17%. In 2006, FEMSA Cerveza released the Mexican brand Sol in the Brazilian market to compete to the biggest Inbev brands with poor results. In 2010, Heineken bought all FEMSA's brewery including the Brazilian unit. Company market share in 2009: Ambev (Inbev) (70%), Grupo Schincariol (11,6%),

Petrópolis brewery Petrópolis (), also known as the Imperial City, is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, north ...

(9,8%), Heineken (6,9%), others (1,73%). Brand market share in 2005: Skol (32,6%), Brahma (20,4%), Antarctica (13,6%), Nova Schin (10,2%), Kaiser (8,9%). There are a number of

microbreweries Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

in Brazil, the emergence of which are a relatively recent phenomenon. Some of the better renowned microbreweries include; *

Baden Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, ...

(established in 1999) * Eisenbahn * Wäls * Colorado * DaDo Bier (The first craft brewery in Brazil established in 1995 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul) * Cervejaria Backer Curitiba and Blumenau are cities with several breweries: Curitiba: WayBeer, Ogre Beer, BodeBrown, Wensky Beer, Klein Bier, GaudenBier, Cervejas Pagan, Bierhoff, Morada and Asgard. Blumenau: Eisenbahn (Currently controlled by the Heineken Group), Bierland and some soft American lager breweries. Belo Horizonte is also becoming a major microbrewering pole in the country, with several recognized brands such as Backer, Wals and many others.

Imports

Over the past decade Brazilian drinkers are enjoying more imported beer. Leading supply destinations include but are not limited to: Mexico, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Uruguay. These imports are a lot more expensive than locally brewed beers. However, there are a growing number of bars and beer shops dedicating themselves to selling a large range of craft and imported beer. Some international brands are actually produced in Brazil, such as

and

, but all are dedicated to the premium market with very small market share.

Economy

Beer is the most competitive sector of the alcoholic drinks market in Brazil, and the big global beer companies like

and

FEMSA Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V., doing business as FEMSA, is a Mexican multinational beverage and retail company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. It operates the largest independent Coca-Cola bottling group in the world and the la ...

compete strongly for market share.

Carnival

In the

Brazilian Carnival The Carnival of Brazil (, ) is an annual festival held the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. During Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally ...

period there is an explosion in beer consumption. In these 4 days, 400 million liters (or around 4% of the yearly production) are consumed. In November with the approach of summer, the manufacture and investment in

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

triples. International tourists find that domestic and local beers are much less expensive than imported brands.

References

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