Point man faced with task of weaning more consumers off their affinity for hard liquor
Saturday, March 19, 2005
BEIRUT: Before political turmoil sent tremors through the local business community, Heineken's chipper point man in Lebanon had one major challenge in mind. "One of my beautiful assignments," poses a smiling Ronald Voorn, who oversees Heineken operations in Lebanon and Syria, "is to inform everybody that it is actually perfectly alright to drink beer in winter." Voorn, who took up the Beirut post earlier this year, says he is determined to change the fact that a whopping 70 percent of Heineken's local production and sales are consumed during summer. The easy-going Dutchman is also faced with the task of weaning more Lebanese off their strong affinity for hard liquor, among other "surprising" local trends such as female consumption.
"Beer is much more of a refreshment here. It is seen as a summer product, for refreshment, beaches and picnics," he explains.
The historic Almaza brewery, which produces Lebanon's top-selling beer, was acquired by Heineken for an undisclosed sum in 2002. Exports of the national pilsner have doubled since the takeover, but Voorn is still scratching his head over the gaping seasonal disparity in the $50 million local beer market.
"I mean come on," he pleads, "you drink your whiskey only with ice in the summer? You drink your whiskey with ice also in the winter. So why not drink a cool beer in the summer and a cool beer in the winter? I mean, it's perfectly possible." In addition to Almaza, which was established in the 1930s, Heineken also produces local beer Laziza and has recently begun production of Rex, a new high-alcohol-content beer, also bottled in Lebanon. But Voorn, who has been with Heineken for 13 years working across Vietnam, the Bahamas and Curacao - says he didn't expect the Lebanese market to be dominated by spirits like vodka and whiskey.
"What really surprises me is the heavy use of hard liquor, especially when you go to the clubs like Crystal, Element, or those places." Naturally, Voorn, 47, is a big fan of Lebanese nightlife. After all, a close understanding of the behaviors of local beer drinkers is part of his job, he explains.
"I'm one of the fortunate people who can say they are working when they go out," Voorn chuckles.
One of his favorite clubs is Shaw, an Oriental-themed bar famed for live music: "You go there on a Tuesday and man that place goes crazy. I like it a lot because it's very Middle Eastern, with the Lebanese songs and Arabic songs: just big groups of men and women having fun. Everybody starts singing a song together and it's just great, it's a great atmosphere." To pique the interest of Lebanese youth, Heineken has been sponsoring DJ competitions here for the last two years, inviting big name international acts to participate with the winners in local concerts. Voorn says Heineken is looking into developing "new beer products," perhaps flavored varieties, as well boosting its line of non-alcoholic beers, which currently account for 10-15 percent of the local market.
Voorn says he has come up with a new export strategy to solve his seasonal conundrum by targeting Lebanese expatriates living in countries with opposite weather cycles - a move that will help the brewery unload stocks during slower winter months.
"Fortunately, we have a lot of Lebanese under the equator, so we will start looking at Brazil and Australia for example," he says.
Exports now account for approximately 20 of Almaza production, with Dubai, England, France and Canada as the main markets.
Still, Lebanese drink far less beer than Europeans. Voorn estimates local per-capita consumption at some 4.5 liters annually, compared to 12 liters per capita in some Asian markets and up to 90 liters per capita in northern Europe.
But colleagues in Europe would be envious of the drinking habits of Lebanese women, Voorn says. He says local females account for larger number of beer drinkers in Lebanon than any other market he has worked in.
"I'm very much struck when I go Downtown and see women smoking the waterpipe and drinking beer. I mean, I'm in heaven," he says with a laugh.
Unfortunately, the Lebanese night scene he had come to cherish has hit a sharp decline in recent weeks, and Heineken local sales, which had been growing by 10 percent annually, were down 35 percent in February. Heineken wields over 50 percent of the local beer market through local production of Almaza and Laziza, in addition to sales of Amstel, Murphy's and its namesake brand, which are all imported.
Voorn says he would love to open a Heineken brewery in Lebanon but the drop in sales has temporarily put those plans on hold. He says a decision was taken to scout out a location for the new brewery before the assassination of former Prime minister Rafik Hariri. If plans resume, and he hopes they will, the new brewery would produce Heineken in Lebanon for the first time in a plant that would easily eclipse the current 200 strong operation at the Almaza brewery.
"If things go well in Lebanon, the future is without limits," Voorn says.
He laments missing the chance to meet Hariri, whom he was scheduled to see a week before his assassination with a visiting member of the Heineken's executive board. But the meeting was cancelled at the last minute.
"We certainly wanted to meet him. He was one of the fathers of Lebanon." Voorn says he was speechless on his first trip to the newly restored areas of Downtown Beirut, which was largely rebuilt by a real estate corporation Hariri founded. Voorn described the area as a "feast for the eyes." "There is a huge potential in Lebanon and so much natural beauty. There are so many possibilities here. It's amazing how little people know about this," he says.
By Habib Battah Daily Star staff
© The Daily Star 2005
