2017 highly commended: Kronenbourg 1664 - case study

In 2012 Kronenbourg 1664’s fortunes were not looking good. Sadly, this wasn’t new.

Since the heady prerecession heights of 2007 when the business was selling 1.7m hectoliters of beer*, Kronenbourg had been in chronic value and volume decline within an industry that was selling less and less beer and where competition was stiffening.

In the on-trade Kronenbourg had lost 26% of volumes in the last year and the more robust off-trade wasn’t faring much better, with 14.5% in volume losses.

With the burgeoning craft lager and world lager segments opening up, and 80 new lagers available in 2011 alone, Kronenbourg was increasingly looking like an “old” lager without much to say for itself anymore.