Amstel

Heineken is giving Amstel another makeover backed by a £7m push in a bid to revive flagging supermarket sales of the Dutch lager.

The second revamp for Amstel in two years, it will see new bottles and cans roll out this month featuring a red design and logo, which Heineken said would “lend a more premium look and feel” to the 4.1% abv lager and bring it in line with Amstel’s wider identity across Europe.

Amstel was “attracting more and more affluent drinkers year on year” said Heineken brand unit director Nic Casby.

The rebrand will be supported by TV, cinema and social media advertising, as well as in-store activations and the continued sponsorship of Prudential RideLondon.

Heineken previously relaunched Amstel in the off-trade in spring 2016, introducing new cans and bottles and mounting a TV ad push. The relaunch was a big success, with the brand’s value rocketing from just £1m in February 2016 to £25.4m by February 2017.

However, sales plummeted after Amstel was delisted by Tesco in its early 2017 range review. Latest figures reveal £4.6m has been wiped from its value over the past year, a 17.9% drop to £20.8m [IRI 52 w/e 3 February 2018].

Since this January, Heineken has reclaimed listings in Tesco for Birra Moretti, Strongbow and Kronenbourg [Brand View 52 w/e 21 February 2018], with sources claiming the brewer may be better placed to win back space in the mults this year thanks to wholesale price increases by rivals such as Molson Coors and AB InBev.