Foster's Lager
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Foster's Lager is an internationally-distributed, Australian brand of beer. It is also brewed under licence in many countries, including the USA, Canada and the People's Republic of China. The European rights to the beer are owned by Scottish & Newcastle plc (see below), who brew and distribute Foster's in most European countries including; the United Kingdom, Greece, France, Belgium, Portugal, Finland, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland. The brand is owned in India by SABMiller [1]
The Foster's brand is also used in Australia on several other beers, notably Foster's Light Ice, a low-alcohol pale lager.
Recent statistics show that 30 pints of "The Amber Nectar" is consumed every second in The U.K. alone[citation needed].
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[edit] History
Locally brewed Foster's first arrived in the UK with Paul Hogan proclaiming it tasted 'like an angel crying on your tongue'. However, Foster's Lager had already been imported in large quantities from Australia in its distinctly blue, white and gold cans since the early 1970's. At that time there was a considerable 'ex-patriate' Australian community in Britain, notably in London in the suburb of Earl's Court, often referred to as 'Kangaroo Valley'. A mixture of young professionals and alleged 'draft dodgers' from the Vietnam War (in which Australia was a combatant), they created a demand for the importing of numerous Australian products, including Foster's Lager.
Awareness of the brand was spread in Britain by the satirical political magazine "Private Eye" which ran a cartoon series "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie" , featuring a bumbling Foster's swilling Australian 'ex-pat'.
In Britain the Courage brewing group was acquired in 1986 by Australian 'corporate raider' John Dorman Elliott. Perceiving the increasing popularity of imported Foster's Lager, it was decided to commence local brewing of the product by Courage.
Unfortunately this resulted in the alcoholic strength of the local product being reduced from 5% ABV to about 4% ABV.
[edit] Slogans
Foster's Lager uses the slogan "The Amber Nectar" in Australia and the UK and "Australian for Beer" elsewhere overseas. The overseas advertising of the product often focuses upon the Australian connotations of the beer, e.g. with reference to stereotypical Australian imagery such as kangaroos, exaggerated accents, and hats with corks on strings.
[edit] Popularity in Australia
While popular in many countries, particularly where it is brewed locally, Foster's Lager does not enjoy widespread popularity in Australia. As a bottled beer produced by the Foster's Group (formerly the Carlton United Beverages group (CUB)) it is rarely promoted in Australia. Once a 'premium' brand, Foster's Lager has been bypassed in favour of CUB's favoured premium brands of Carlton Crown Lager and Stella Artois (now brewed locally under licence.)
Beers popular in Australia include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Cascade Draught, Tooheys, Coopers, West End, Swan or Emu Bitter.
In Australia until the end of the 1970's, Foster's Lager was a reasonably popular bottled and canned beer with a somewhat premium image. Then in the early 1980's there were major changes in the Australian brewing industry, including the merger of Castlemaine (Brisbane), Swan (Perth) and Toohey's (Sydney) into a national brewing group, as a result of acquisitions by Perth entrepreneur Alan Bond. In Queensland the high-volume Power's brewery was established by local entrepreneur Bernie Power.
Faced with inroads into its non-Victorian markets, Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) reviewed its product range and attempted to re-position some of its brands. So Fosters Draught was introduced, served on tap alongside established draught brands such as Castlemaine XXXX and Toohey's New. Despite some initial success, bolstered by heavy advertising, the brand did not prove popular and was eventually withdrawn from sale. Arguably, at the end of this failed exercise Foster's Lager was no longer viewed by consumers as a "premium" brand and has not been promoted in Australia recently.
CUB have recently tended to promote the brands of Carlton Draught (mainstream market), Victoria Bitter (working class male market) and Carlton Cold Filtered (Youth and night club market). As an "also-ran" Foster's Lager will no doubt be brewed as a bottled and canned beer in Australia for the foreseeable future, at least for sentimental reasons.
As an ironic note, Power's Brewery, south of Brisbane, was taken over by CUB and is now used to brew Victoria Bitter and other CUB brands in Queensland, perhaps including Foster's Lager.
[edit] Current status
In April 2006, Scottish & Newcastle plc announced that it has agreed to acquire the Foster’s brand in Europe (including Turkey), the Russian Federation and other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States from Foster’s Group Limited for approximately £309 million. In August 2006, SABMiller announced that it had bought the Foster's brand in India for a reported $120m from private investors.
[edit] Sales volumes
Foster’s worldwide volumes amounted to approximately 900 million litres in 2005. S&N is responsible for approximately 82% of the total worldwide sales of Foster’s by volume, the majority of which is sold in the UK (approximately 7 million hectolitres). In the last three years, sales growth by volume has averaged 6% in the UK and 15% in Continental Europe (including the Russian Federation), outperforming overall beer sales in both these markets.
[edit] Advertising
The distinctive "Oil Can" design was the brainchild of Foster's Group Marketing VP Jack McKimm. Other company higher-ups proposed a jumbo glass bottle, but a demonstration involving an old-timey oil can spout sold them on the idea. The distinctive can design has become synonymous with Foster's Lager. Fosters now advertise and promote their products through Lion Nathan (producer of Bacardi brands)
[edit] Foster's In The United Kingdom
In the UK, Scottish & Newcastle have pioneered the use of Head Injection Technology (HIT) to lay a smooth creamy head on the beer as it is poured on draught. More recently - founts have been converted to the "Super Chilled" format, serving the beer at 2-3 °C colder than regular Foster's. This technology has now been adopted by other markets including Australia, although Foster's itself is no longer produced as a draught (keg) beer in Australia.
[edit] Variants
Scottish & Newcastle has also launched Foster's Twist, a beer with a hint of citrus that is marketed as a refreshing alternative to other heavier beers and Premium Packaged Spirits such as Smirnoff Ice. Foster's Twist is 4.5% abv.
