Efes Beverage Group

For the basketball club sponsored by this company, see Efes Pilsen S.K..

Efes Beer Group

Type	Public
Industry	Beverage
Founded	1969
Headquarters	Istanbul, Turkey
Products	Beers, Malt Drinks, Low Alcohol Drinks, Soft Drinks
Revenue	836.2 million USD (03/2008)
Website	http://www.efesbev.com/

Efes Beer Group was founded in Turkey in 1969, and today consists of sixteen breweries in Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Georgia and Serbia, with headquarters in Istanbul. Named after the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (Turkish, "Efes") located near the İzmir brewery, the company is a subsidiary of Anadolu Group. The group is market leader in Turkey, in Moldova and in Georgia, has second rank in Kazakhstan, third rank in Serbia and fourth rank in Russia. The group has serious market share in Belarus and began production in Germany under license recently.

As the 8th most popular European brand by sales volume and the 5th largest European brewer on combined production basis, the company owns a cumulative capacity of 34 million hectoliters, and six maltings with a combined capacity of 236,500 tonnes. The group is 12th rank in the world beer market.^[1]

The flagship product, Efes Pilsen (called "Efes Pilsener" in English) gets its unique taste from rice added into the ingredients at brewing stage. The 5.0% ABV beer has been described to have a "tangy malt and hops aroma, rich malt in the mouth, and a bitter-sweet finish that becomes dry and hoppy",^[2] and has won more than a dozen awards through the years, starting with the 1981 Monde Selection Bruxelles Gold Medal; the 1979 Golden Caralious 19th Caralious Gold Medal; the 1973 Sélection Mondiale Paris Gold Medal; and the 1972 12th Annual World Beer and Non-Alcoholic Drinks Selection Gold and Silver Medals for Dark Beer and White Beer, respectively.

The Efes Beverage Group is the primary sponsor of its namesake Turkish basketball team, Efes Pilsen S.K., currently one of two teams in Istanbul and 14 across Europe that receive automatic berths in the Regular Season phase of the continent's principal club competition, the Euroleague. Efes Pilsen is also the name sponsor of the first Turkish Futsal League organised by the Turkish Football Federation.^[3]

Product line

The classic Efes Pilsener bottle

In addition to its flagship Pilsener, Efes also produces several other beers, including Efes Dark (double-roasted malt lager with 6.5% alcohol and hints of caramel), Efes Light (a 122.7-calorie and 3.0% ABV take on the original), Efes Xtra (a hoppier, 8.0% ABV lager), Efes Ice (a softer, more aromatic, ice-brewed version with 4.2% alcohol), and Efes Dark Brown (a 6.1% ABV double-roasted malt lager with a distinct coffee and chocolate bouquet). All Efes products sold in Turkey use High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Other brands under the Efes Beverage Group are Gusta (5.0% ABV), the company's wheat beer brand; Mariachi, under which the lime or agave-flavored beers Mariachi (4.2% ABV) and Mariachi Black (6.0% ABV) are produced; Marmara, under which the strong-beers Marmara Kırmızı (6.1% ABV) and Marmara Gold (4.1% ABV) are produced; and Ritmix, the company's line of fruit-flavored, non-alcoholic malt drinks.

Various international brands have been brewed, marketed and distributed in Turkey through Efes Beer Group in recent years, including Miller Genuine Draft as of 2000, Beck's as of May 2002, and Foster's Lager as of March 2005.

In international markets, in addition to the aforementioned Efes product line, the company offers a wide variety of local brands with different tastes and appeal. Currently, these are Stary Melnik, Bely Medved, Gold Mine Beer, Sokol, Krasny Vostok, Vostochnaya Bavaria, Zhigulevskoe, Polniy Nokaut, Green Beer, Dolce Iris, Sib-Beer, Yantarnoe, Solodov, Ershistoe, Barkhatnoe, Bogemskoe svetloe, Ak Bars, in Russia; Karagandinskoe in Kazakhstan; Chisinau, Vitanta Premium Classic in Moldova; Weifert, Weifert Belo, Pils Plus, Zajecarsko Pivo and Standard in Serbia & Montenegro.^[4] Such local brands continue to contribute to the company's international revenue stream.

Efes Beverage group further produces German Warsteiner, Dutch Bavaria Premium and Amsterdam Navigator, Czech Zlatopramen and Mexican Sol under licence in Russia.

Market reach

Aside from its domestic market in Turkey, where it currently has 82% market share, Efes exports to over 50 markets in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Israel, Iraqi Kurdistan, France, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Russia and South Africa. In the UK it is sold by the Wetherspoons pub chain.

Efes is widely advertised across Turkey

Efes is also the largest local shareholder of the Coca-Cola franchise in Turkey and produces a range of soft drinks. Muhtar Kent, named to assume the post of CEO of the Coca-Cola Company on July 1, 2008, was the top executive of Efes Beverage Group from 1999 through 2005. The current president of the group is Alejandro Jimenez, who also has worked at Coca-Cola and their subsidiary company Panamco between 1973 and 2001.^[3]

Efes brand, the flagship of Efes Beer Group (EBG), decided to renew its logo as well as its label and bottle design in April 2009.^[5]

See also

• List of food companies

References

1. ^ Anadolu Efes Investor Fact Sheet 2008: http://www.efesbev.com/factsheet/AEFES_investor_fact_sheet.pdf
2. ^ Robert Joseph, Roger Protz, Dave Broom. The Complete Encyclopedia of Wine Beer and Spirits. Carlton Books.New York: 2000. ISBN 1-84222-063-2
3. ^ ^{a b} "Markalar da İnsanlar Gibidir". Biravo (İstanbul: Efes Pazarlama) (20): pp.12–13, 38. 2009. 
4. ^ Efes Brands: http://www.efesbev.com/our_group/beer_brands.aspx
5. ^ "EFES WITH ITS NEW FACE APPEARS ON THE SCENE" (PDF). Efes Beverages. 2009-04-29. http://www.efesbev.com/investor_relations/pdf/Efes_new_logo.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-07. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Efes Beverage Group (English)
• Efes Pilsener (English)
• Fosters/Efes Agreement Article on Foster's Lager distribution
• Lindo/Efes Agreement Article on the Efes-Lindo relationship