Who is Mahou San Miguel? First off, it’s Spain’s leading brewing company with a production share of 34 percent in the country. The Grupo Mahou-San Miguel is touted as a family-owned and family-run business by members of the Mahou family who first founded the Hijos de Casimiro Mahou brewery in Madrid in 1890. In 2000, Mahou bought the remaining 70 percent it didn’t already own in the San Miguel brand from the Danone Group (a French multinational food company), creating Mahou San Miguel. Jose Antonio Mahou Herraiz, a seventh generation family member, is the group chairman.
Mahou San Miguel has many investments and brands. Its main markets are the United Kingdom, Equatorial Guinea, Italy, Germany, Portugal, India and the Nordic countries. In America, the company has been present since 2011, where its brands Mahou Cinco Estrellas and Alhambra Reserva 1925 have a growing visibility and penetration, especially in Florida. The company also has interesting ventures in two U.S. craft breweries, owning a 30 percent stake in both Founders Brewing Co. and Avery Brewing Co. In 2014, Founders described its new minority investor like this:
We wanted and needed a partner like us, that was product-driven and that cared about the longevity of their beer, their craft, their values, their community and their culture more than short-term financial results.
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Mahou will help us grow to be an internationally recognized brand. They’re looking at this investment as a long-term partnership, and they’re excited to help grow Founders throughout their extensive global distribution footprint. Mahou’s financial stability opens doors to new opportunities for us.
By November 2015, Founders was being sold in Spain. Internationalization is one of the main strategic lines for developing its business, noted Mahou San Miguel in its latest press release. It produces more than 70 percent of Spanish beer consumed in the world and is available in more than 70 countries. Now, it’s eyeing the American market specifically for its Mahou brand.
Just this week the Spanish-based beer group announced a USA campaign called “This is Madrid.” Through a series of digital videos, the brand is hoping to educate Americans on its popular Mahou Cinco Estrellas brand (a European pale lager). These videos, which I couldn’t embed on this site, delve into how the brand is a part of Madrid’s culture. The videos tackle simple tricks for proper pronunciation of the language (including the beer, which is MA-U), dishes that must be sampled with it, must-see sights around Madrid and more funness.
The campaign will feature eight pieces of content over three months across the brand’s digital platforms, alongside various promotions for international consumers.
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