One of the biggest and most influential names in the beer industry. Budweiser was bestowed as the most valued beer brand worldwide in the year 2020. With an increased rate of popularity and consumer growth, this brand is set to break off the records in the upcoming few years. Their vision comprises delivering premium quality while focusing their actions towards sustainability. Budweiser is produced by Anheuser-Busch, an American brewing company that is now a subsidiary of AB InBev.
The growth of Budweiser
In today’s world, beer isn’t just defined by one definition; rather this term encompasses a variety of beers ranging from light to dark. But back in time, beer was a lot heavier and stated as ‘liquid bread’. While this darker beer was suitable for a certain part of society, Americans wanted a light variation. Busch saw this opportunity and wanted to recreate the Budweis beer (A region now known as Czech Republic). The name ‘Budweiser’ is a tribute to the beer makers of the Budweis region. In 1860, a small brewery in St. Louis, Missouri became home to Anheuser-Busch Company. A year after establishment, Anheuser’s daughter was married to Adolphus Busch who was a brewery supplier. The name of the company is based on – Eberhard Anheuser and Adolphus Busch.
During the process of recreation, they faced certain difficulties due to the difference in the amount of protein in barley from Europe in comparison to America’s. The high protein in American barley caused it to float on the top. To fix this issue, they worked with a lot of different cooking methods, They –
“Mixed starchy grains such as white corn and rice that absorbed excess proteins and helped their beer attain the lemon-colored transparency they were seeking” – Mitenbuler 2020.
After all the hard work, their first beer was released in the year 1876 – Budweiser. It gained huge popularity and the people of Czech Republic coined Budweiser as ‘ The Beer of Kings’. Therefore, the company started advertising itself as ‘The King of Beers’ after hearing the chanted slogan.
Major Technological advances x growth of sales for Budweiser
One of the reasons behind the huge popularity of Budweiser was the use of refrigerated railcars. This brand was the first one to acquire this technique and this increased their sales at an enormous rate due to two reasons – the beer was transported without any harm to premium quality and the coverage of distant locations was now possible due to the new technology.
Budweiser was also the first company to produce pasteurized bottle beer. This process involves heating the beer to remove the micro-organisms which could spoil the quality of the beer over time. This additional process helped in extending the shelf life of beers. Brewers all around started adapting this technique which made beers last longer.
The list of setting initiatives and achieving them wasn’t just a story of the past. In the year 2016, Budweiser committed to brewing 100% renewable electricity by 2025. Along with this decision towards sustainability, Budweiser has been implementing the need of sustainability in many fields –
- Breweries – The brand has been working towards making all of their breweries carbon neutral with the installation of panels onsite and recycling of gas supply.
- Agriculture – Their Smart Barly program and predictive analysis manages the crop yields and supports local farmers.
- Transportation – They have a fleet of electric and hydrogen-fuel delivery trucks worldwide. A result of the partnership with BYD & Tesla.
- Retailers & Distribution – Apart from all the initiatives for their own company, Budweiser’s has also started working with bars & retailers to help them in reducing their C02 impact by installation of solar panels & more efficient cooling systems.
Budweiser’s range of products :
- Budweiser
- Budweiser Nitro Gold
- Budweiser Zero
- Budweiser Chelada
- Budweiser Select
- Budweiser Select 55
Amongst all the popularity and growth, ‘The King of Beers’ did something special for ‘The King of Football’. Budweiser created a customized beer bottle for every single goal scored by Lionel Messi, this took place when Messi reached an amazing score of 644 goals for Barcelona. These bottles were sent to the goalkeepers that faced Lionel Messi from the 1st to the 644th goal. Before this they also created a limited edition bottle dedicated to Messi which was available for sale in Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Russia, Spain and Vietnam.
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