Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

Lascelles' Kingston 62 Beer. -File

A little over a year on the market and Lascelles' new Kingston 62 Beer has made inroads in the market and is on track to capture 10 per cent of the $6.5 billion local beer market in 3-5 years, says general manager for marketing at Lascelles Wine and Spirits, Andrew Desnoes.

Lascelles expects it will be years before it sees a return on its investment in the beer, but Desnoes anticipates that two years ahead, the brand could earn $650 million for the group.

"We have a five year plan," said Desnoes.

But full market acceptance of Kingston 62 may take much longer.

"It takes 20 to 30 years to build a good brand," he said. So much of the capital expenditure is going into developing Kingston 62 as a quality beer, the marketing manager indicated.

To date, Lascelles' investment in the brand has been "over US$1 million" ($70million).

"With the three to five year plan to have a 10 per cent of the market, after year one we are on track," said Desnoes.

expansion

He would not divulge sales or distribution volumes but told the Financial Gleaner Kingston 62 would be expanding into new channels to get more deeply entrenched in the market.

Lascelles introduced its new brew last October in partnership with Beverly Lopez's Big City Brewing Company Limited which was contracted to manufacture the beer.

That arrangement remains.

The product is described as a premium authentic pilsner beer, offering a on the market.

"We've done that and got market acceptance," said Desnoes. "We've achieved our numerical and qualitative objective."

Despite that claim however, it has not been all smooth sailing.

The price of the product has risen within the year, touched like other products by higher input costs as energy and transportation charges climb.

The retail price of the beer increased this year by $10 or 16 per cent more than the $60 per bottle it graced the market with late last year, while national events also impacted business.

"It has been a challenging year," admitted Desnoes, noting that for a good nine months of 2007 the nation was in limbo due to the general elections and the passage of Hurricane Dean.

The brand is visible in the supermarkets and convenience stores but not in the hotels.

Desnoes says it will not compete with Big City Brewing's Real Rock Beer which channels its products through the hotels.

"We haven't tried to take any one head on," he said of the local beer market which he described as remaining constant.

This comment was supported by figures published by competitor Red Stripe which saw growth in domestic sales of $8.7 billion at the end of its financial year, bolstered by the Red Stripe Beer brand.

Desnoes said Kingston 62 has added some dynamism to the market, which also saw the entry of a Corona beer and a new stout.

susan.gordon@gleanerjm.com

TAKEN FROM THE FINANCIAL GLEANER, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2007