With the launch of the Heineken global graduate programme this month, Rice – who is now Heineken on-trade director – reflected on the impact this route into work had on him.
He says: “A great graduate programme can be so valuable to jump start your career and the experience I gained working with a huge retailer set me up for success so well.”
“I had a great time at L’Oreal and made some lifelong friends there, but after four years when I saw an opportunity to sell beer with Heineken UK I jumped at the chance.”
This kick-started a decade long career at Heineken UK where his rise has been meteoric.
After spending four years in the off-trade team, in 2018 Rice crossed the office and joined Star Pubs & Bars following the business buying 1,900 sites from Punch.
On joining the pub arm of Heineken UK as a regional operations director, Rice says: “I couldn’t turn down such a fantastic opportunity to learn our pub business. I’ve always loved pubs, and this role gave me the chance to learn the on trade from the ‘inside’, working with fantastic licensees.
“This role affirmed I wanted to dedicate the next part of my career working with great on-trade operators and the people who support them.”
In 2020, he became a trading director looking after IFT in the south. Two years ago, Rice took up the role of on-trade director. He states: “I’ve worked across the three different commercial functions here at Heineken and have learned so much over the past 12 years. Leading our on-trade business is a huge privilege, I have an incredible team of around 320 working across front-line sales, customer experience, category, RMG and digital.
“It feels like there’s been so much momentum behind the on-trade side of the business at Heineken in recent years and this is routed in the incredible work the whole team does every day.”
The work Rice and his team have undertaken has not gone unnoticed by the sector. This year, Heineken UK was recognised as #1 among drink suppliers to the UK on-trade, according to the Voice of the Customer Advantage Report – an annual report that evaluates the sentiment of national pub groups, including Greene King, Fuller, Smith & Turner and Admiral Taverns, towards leading beer, wine, spirit and soft drink suppliers.
“I have a lot of career highlights but that recognition for the whole team meant so much and felt like an assurance that we’re moving in the right direction,” he adds. “The feedback from our customers really spoke to the fact that not only do we supply market leading beers and ciders, but as a business we endeavour to put customer service at the centre of everything we do, and that the operators are feeling that support on the ground.”
Since Rice has been in role, Heineken UK has really invested in its customer care and customer experience teams. Rice says: “We want to be more than just the business you buy beer from. We fundamentally want to help operators make a success of their businesses and have steadily ramped up the wider support and resourcing that we offer our customers.
“We help our customers in a few different ways from exclusive retail and service discounts along with marketing support for operators to help drive footfall, all of which is available via our Eazle platform, and we also invest a lot of energy in delivering category insight, like our recent Cider Report, that is geared toward helping operators get more revenue through the bar.
“We’re also focused on utilising more insight from our own pub estate, because it’s a real USP for us and can give our customers a steer on what’s working well from ranging to the impact of new product innovation.”
Low & no investment
On the business’s brand, Rice explains: “The investment we’ve delivered for our established brands and recent innovation has really ensured we have fantastic beers and ciders at every consumer price point and drinking occasion.”
He adds with an increasing number of consumers moderating when at the pub or in restaurants, Heineken UK has invested significantly in its low & no portfolio to help operators maximise this trend.
Rice goes on: “We’ve rolled out Heineken 0.0 on draught, which has helped to drive more value for pubs from their no-alcohol sales given we know consumers are willing to spend more for a great pint.
“At the same time, overall brand growth of Birra Moretti has really driven sales of Birra Moretti Zero, offering customers a really strong packaged trade up option from Heineken 0.0.”
Rice says Birra Moretti went from strength-to-strength last year, overtaking Carling to become the best-selling draught lager in the UK, as drinkers continue to opt for more premium beer options.
The brand was further supported with the launch of Birra Moretti Sale di Mare, an unfiltered premium lager with a hint of Italian sea salt. This innovation has really invigorated interest in the brand and has set Birra Moretti up for a big 2025.
Rice says: “Darts is back and as popular as ever so we’re very excited by our partnership between the PDC and Foster’s, while our first on-trade flavour innovation for Strongbow in a decade, with the launch of Strongbow Strawberry is recruiting new consumers into the category. Our focus on Foster’s and Strongbow has really helped to energise our core-brands.
“Cruzcampo has had a huge impact on our business – it’s been the biggest brand launch in over a decade in the beer, wine and spirits category[1]. We’re offering an authentic Spanish Lager at a time when demand for beers in this category has never been higher, has really helped our customers drive value.”
Inch’s continues to be the fastest growing cider brand in the on-trade, Rice claims, and with the launch of Inch’s 0.0 and Inch’s Riversider this month, Heineken UK has strengthened its apple cider offer, giving consumers a credible and great tasting no-alcohol cider and a premium cider to support trade up.
Rice says: “When you look through our portfolio of beer and ciders, I feel really fortunate to be able to offer our on-trade customers such a fantastic range of brands that ensures your range on the bar is set up to maximise the amount of cash your putting through the till.”
Heineken Original
“We’re incredibly lucky to have such a global icon in Heineken Original in our portfolio.” Rice says.
“Through its legacy and association with sport it is the number one most recognised beer brand in the UK[2]. However, with such consumer focus on Mediterranean brands such as Cruzcampo and Birra Moretti in the UK, Heineken Original has perhaps had less attention than in the past.”
Rice adds: “We recognise there is massive potential for Heineken Original and a big part of our on-trade strategy for 2025 is to recharge the brand.”
Along with a multimillion-pound TV and digital campaign focusing on draught quality, the brewer is also refreshing its core assets.
This year, Heineken UK is launching new Heineken Original glassware that features an iconic star base along with optimised nuclearisation to ensure a perfect pint. Heineken UK is also rolling out new fonts for the brand that it believes give Heineken Original real stand-out on bars.
Rice says 2025 was the first year the group brought Heineken Original to the Publican Awards and attendees were the first to preview its new glassware and fonts, and it was delighted with the positive feedback it received on the evening.
Challenges and opportunities
“The challenges our sector has faced over the past five years are really well documented and I’m afraid I don’t see any meaningful relief coming down the line for publicans,” Rice laments.
“Consumer confidence looks to be improving slightly but with the geopolitical environment being so volatile at the moment, we need to wait and see if that continues.
“That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. As a sector, we are incredibly resilient and every day we hear brilliant stories of publicans bucking this trend and creating really successful businesses and fantastic places to have a pint. There are so many operators that are adapting quickly to meet changing consumer demand and long may this continue.”
A look to summer
Rice concludes: “It feels like, in the UK, we’re approaching a bit of a watershed moment for women’s sport and 2025 may just be the year we look back on and say ‘that was the point women’s sport started to have a similar impact on hospitality businesses as men’s tournaments’.
“We have the Women’s Rugby World Cup kicking off in August, played on home soil and for which England are the favourites. We also have the Women’s Euros in July, which Heineken proudly sponsors and, of course, England are the defending champions.
“There’s such a wave of interest in women rugby and football in particular, that publicans that get behind these tournaments this summer could really drive some additional revenue.”
Sources:
[1] Biggest brand launch since 2007 based on Value (£) in its first year of launch - CGA OPM Data to P02 2024 (24/02/2024); Nielsen Discover Data to 23/03
[2] BGS Navigation, Brand Power (2024)
