Backus and Johnston

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Backus and Johnston
Type Private
Founded 1879
Headquarters Lima, Peru
Industry Beverage
Products Cusqueña, Cristal, Viva
Parent SABMiller
Website www.backus.com.pe

Backus and Johnston is the largest brewery in Peru, part of Grupo Empresarial Bavaria,[1] which itself is part of the international SABMiller group. Its main brewery is located in the Ate District of Lima. Backus, as owner of almost all brands of beer available in Peru, enjoys a de facto monopoly over Peruvian beer consumption, although recently InBev from Brazil is trying to challenge the monopoly with their Brahma. Besides beer, Backus also produces soft drinks and bottled water.

Contents

[edit] History

Brewery in Rímac, Lima
Brewery in Rímac, Lima

The Backus and Johnston brewery was founded in 1879 by Mr. Jacob Backus and Mr. John Howard Johnston in the Rímac District in Lima. In 1889, the two founders incorporated "The Backus and Johnston's Brewery Company Ltd" in London, and they transferred all their Peruvian brewery related assets to this new corporation in order to raise investment capital in the Joint Stock of London to continue their business growth. The founders continued as Managing Directors of the company for many years thereafter until Mr. Johnston left Peru in 1898 for family reasons, and Mr. Backus died in 1899. The company operated as a British corporation until 1954, when the company management decided to transfer the company assets and incorporation to Peru. At this time, "The Backus and Johnston's Brewery Company Ltd" was renamed as Cervecería Backus & Johnston S.A. In 1994 Backus and Johnston managed to take over its rival on the beer market, the National Beer Company Compañía Nacional de Cerveza S.A., formed in 1863 and owner of the Pilsen Callao brand. In 1996 four breweries, including Backus and Johnston merged into one new company using the name Union of Peruvian breweries Backus and Johnston (Spanish: Unión de Cervecerías Peruanas Backus y Johnston S.A.A.). In 2000 the company further expanded when the Brewery Company of Southern Peru (Cervesur) joined the union, making it owner of the popular Cusqueña brand. Since 2005 Backus and Johnston is part of the SABMiller group of breweries. The company still owns the prominently visible brewery in the Rímac district.[2]

[edit] Breweries

Backus owns breweries in various parts of Peru. Its main brewery is located in Lima, while the other breweries are still located in the parts of Peru they used to serve before the take-over by Backus and Johnston.[3]

  • Ate brewery in Lima (now Cristal, Cusqueña, Barena and Polar )
  • Motupe brewery in Chiclayo (now Cristal and Pilsen Callao)
  • Trujillo brewery in Trujillo (former Pilsen Trujillo, now Cristal, Pilsen Callao and Pilsen Trujillo)
  • Arequipa brewery in Arequipa (former Arequipeña, now Arequipeña, Cristal, Cusqueña and Pilsen Callao)
  • Cusco brewery in Cusco (former Cusqueña, now Cristal, Cusqueña and Pilsen Callao)
  • Pucallpa brewery in Pucallpa (former San Juan, now Cristal, Pilsen Callao and San Juan)

[edit] Brands

[edit] Beers

Backus and Johnston and Grupo Empresarial Bavaria are the owners of most of the well-known and popular beer brands in Peru.

Arequipeña
Arequipeña

Arequipeña was a rival product to Cusqueña and Cristal until the take-over by Grupo Empresarial Bavaria.[4] Arequipeña is brewed in the Cervecera del sur del Peru brewery located in Sacha near Arequipa, Peru. [5][6][7] Barena[8]; Cristal[9]

[edit] Soft drinks

The soft drinks owned by Backus include Viva, a beverage similar to Inca Kola and Guaraná, a beverage containing guaraná fruit.

[edit] Bottled water

Bottled water is produced under the brand names Cristalina Backus and San Mateo


[edit] References

  1. ^ The big beer deal - Backus y Johnson, Grupo Empresarial Bavaria, and Cisneros Group. findarticles.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  2. ^ Backus, Our business, History, Retrieved October 12, 2007
  3. ^ Backus, Our brands, Our breweries, Retrieved October 13, 2007
  4. ^ Thomson Financial Mergers & Acquisitions - SABMiller PLC acquires remaining interest in Cia Cervecera Del Sur Del Peru (pending) - AlacraStore.com. www.alacrastore.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  5. ^ Cervecera del sur del Peru (Grupo Empresarial Bavaria). www.ratebeer.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  6. ^ Arequipeña, Arequipeña, Nuestros productos, Retrieved October 13, 2007
  7. ^ http://www.backus.com.pe/homepage.html
  8. ^ (Spanish) Barena, Pásala Barena, Retrieved October 12, 2007.
  9. ^ (Spanish) Cristal, Cristal, the beer of Peru, Retrieved October 12, 2007.
  10. ^ (Spanish) Cusqueña, Cusqueña, Retrieved October 13, 2007.
  11. ^ (Spanish) Pilsen Callao, Pilsen Callao, October 13, 2007.
  12. ^ (Spanish) Pilsen Trujillo, Pilsen Trujillo, October 12, 2007.
  13. ^ (Spanish) San Juan, San Juan, Retrieved October 13, 2007.

[edit] External links

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