Pelayo Bezanilla of the Chilean Association of Beer Products (ACHECHI) attributes this change to how Chileans are currently consuming. "We are a consumer that has a major purchasing power. We have a proclivity to innovate our tastes and this does not only apply to high-class people but to everybody. This change permeates throughout all consumer products and is largely reflective of a worldwide phenomenon some call 'premiumness,' which is the tendency to go for more premium or exclusive products," he said.

Alvaro Artiagotia, who owns a local craft beer company Capital, told the Santiago Times that "up until now stout was stigmatized because the only stout on the market, Malta and it was considered disgusting. Now Chileans consider drinking dark beer as a sign of status. If you drink dark beer you know about beer and are therefore very cultured. The notion of being a cultured consumer is now of utmost importance to a good majority of Chileans."

This new trend in premium product consumption is reflected in the growing sales of imported and craft beers. According to a marketing report conducted by Datum in 2007 and cited by CCU representatives during court hearings, beers imported by CCU and Inbev – the biggest beer company in the world and owner of Chile's third most popular beer, Brahma – have doubled since 2006. .

The survey also revealed that Inbev has grown very competitive with its Brahma and Corona beers and now accounts for an above average amount of the imported beer sector. Still, this does not change the fact that CCU owns 86 percent of the Chilean market while Inbev controls only 12.7 percent.

Another key point brought forth by CCU's defense was the growing importance of the craft beer market. Twenty percent of the companies that comprise the craft beer sector of the market didn't even appear until two years ago. In 2006 the craft beer sector only accounted for 0.4 percent of the market, with 22 thousand hectoliters. He believes with the advent of outsourced distribution companies handling craft beer distribution their presence in the market will grow and is growing quickly.

CCU used the survey to prove it does not abuse its distribution powers by using exclusivity contracts because the market in growing far more competitive. In its assessment of the Chilean beer market CCU highlights several key points asserting that Chile's beer market is changing, diversifying and growing – therefore opening to greater diversity.

SOURCE: LA TERCERA 

By Julia Thompson editor@santiagotimes.