Creating a better beer experience, the Molson Coors way

Mark Hunter thinks sharing a beer with friends is one of life's simple pleasures and as such should be a protected pastime. Unsurprising really, given his role as chief executive of Molson Coors UK, the country's largest brewer in production terms.

But Hunter's passion for his products - which includes the UK's number one selling beer Carling - and the right of everyone to enjoy a drink when the fancy takes them does not mean he is oblivious to the economic as well as social pressures facing alcohol producers.

"I've got two teenage children and sometimes I'm shocked by what I hear in terms of their and their peers' attitudes towards alcohol," he says.

Pricing tension

The off-trade in general - and the supermarket sector in particular - has been at the heart of much of the debate around pricing and responsible retailing.

Hunter produces a chart showing that in 1983 the average on-trade price of a pint was 69p, versus 66p in the off-trade. Today, the on-trade pint costs on average nearly four times as much as it did 27 years ago, while the off-trade pint has only grown 1.5 times.

Hunter also points to no real increase in the price of beer in the off-trade for 13 years, despite duty and cost increases. "You could remove a lot of the tension by removing the price of products in advertising," he says, adding the brewer has raised this idea with the Advertising Standards Agency.

And before anyone can point to what some in the on-trade saw as Molson Coors' own stab at undermining the pub experience with its take-home Home Draught cask, he says the brewer has pursued a 'value over volume' strategy in recent times.

"We gave up 1.4 share points by cutting back low/no margin activity. We stand firm on prices with the off-trade," he adds, pointing to a six-week period two years ago when Tesco de-listed Molson Coors completely.

"There's nothing we, or indeed anyone, can do to influence price. We can work with them, and do. But at the end of the day it's their call. The idea is to try and get a win/win for both producer and retailer," he says.

Responsible retailing is just one element in a complex pattern of relationships that a brewer trading in the current socio-economic and political environment has to contend with.

Under Hunter, Molson Coors has been happy to say what it thinks about things such as alcohol taxation - which it thinks needs addressing - and minimum pricing, which it supports in principle provided the price is pegged correctly.

"Between 1970 and 2008 the beer market shrank dramatically," he says, "and between 2005 and 2010 a further 18 per cent of beer volumes will have disappeared. It is no coincidence that throughout this latter period there were a lot of legislative changes and duty increases."

Lower ABV products

Hunter points out that in 2009 Molson Coors UK recorded £60m of profits and yet paid out £540m in excise duty. He argues that the government could make a lot more headway in the responsible drinking arena if it levied less - or indeed no - tax on low alcohol products.

"The government could help precisely the sort of category which could help reduce alcohol-related disorder," Hunter says. Reducing or even cancelling duty on low alcohol and alcohol-free beers would incentivise people to do more in such a product area, he adds.

Against this background Molson Coors is due to give C2 - effectively its two per cent version of Carling - a renewed push next year. Hunter admits the brewer missed a trick with the communication of the product, which hasn't exactly set the world ablaze in the six years since its launch. Hunter and his senior colleagues are keen to get across the message that beer can be part of a lifestyle focused on 'well-being'.

"For the first time, there is the sense of a more holistic approach from and between government departments such as Health, Treasury and Home Office.

"We want to stand up for the beer category, to discuss the health aspects and deter what I call 'promiscuity' on the part of many consumers of alcohol," he says.

Hunter points to countries such as Spain where, he says, beer does not suffer the sort of stigma it does in the UK. "Beers are more acceptable to women there. It shows what is possible," he says.

With around 60 per cent of UK women currently not drinking beer Hunter believes there is a market to go after, hence Molson Coors' plan to launch a number of products next year aimed at - though not to the point of exclusivity - women.

Having already dipped its toe in the female-friendly beer pond with Kasteel Cru, Hunter is at pains to point out that it is not just about marketing a beer to women. Instead it's the experience of beer that adds weight to its value as a product.

How to drive growth in the beer category generally? "It's about the sort of experience you get when you order a cup of coffee. The same should be done with beer. It's important to think about how to bring the product to life at the point of purchase," he adds.

"You have wine menus when you order food in a bar, so why not do the same for beer, rather than having to guess?

"There are opportunities to rebuild interest in the beer category. We should pursue them."