The Association of Italian Beer and Malt Producers (Assobirra) has intensified its campaign against rising excise taxes on beer.
Last year, AssoBirra and the top players in the Italian market (Heineken, SabMiller, Carlsberg, AB InBev, Forst, Menabrea) launched the "Save Your Beer" campaign to mobilize the estimated 35 million beer consumers and put pressure on the Italian Government and Parliament to stop anticipated tax increases.
The campaign includes an on-line petition (which has so far collected 115,000 signatures), a study that shows the negative impact of excise taxes on the economy and employment and the involvement of testimonials and consumers on social media.
According to Assobirra, taxes on beer have increased by 30% between October 2013 and January 2015 and are among the highest in Europe. At the same time, the promotional pressure has reached “unsustainable levels”, with almost one in two beers in Italy sold on promotion.
Another major change is the move towards cheaper products, which generates loss of value to the entire supply chain. The top segment of the market, with the higher margins, has seen a noticeable decline: the market share of specialty beers fell from 13.4% to 11.5%, while that of the premium beers from 30.3% to 26.7%.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic
