USA: Heineken partners with U.S. Beverage to expand offer of specialty brands to the US market

Beer importer U.S. Beverage will now serve as the U.S. importer of certain specialty brands owned by Heineken N.V. via a new deal the two companies announced July 19, CSPDailyNews,com reported.

"After an extensive review of our U.S. importation organizations and as a result of the evolution of the U.S. market, we are excited to partner with U.S. Beverage in our strategy to build our extensive portfolio of specialty international brands," said Jose Luis Lopez Portillo, export director of Heineken Americas Export.

Initially, U.S. Beverage will bring eight beers from around the world to the United States. They include:

Dragon Stout (Jamaica)
Krusovice (Czech Republic)
Zagorka (Bulgaria)
Gosser (Austria)
Bintang (Bali, Indonesia)
Zajecarsko (Serbia)
Cruzcampo (Spain)
Alfa (Greece)

Other brands may be added over time and “may include brands from Europe, Latin America, South America and [Southeast] Asia.” The deal does not include brands that are handled by Heineken USA or its affiliate Five Points Trading Co.

"Heineken has partnered with U.S. Beverage in part for a number of years and has proven itself as a builder of premium brands throughout the United States,” Portillo said. “We are quite confident and excited that our partnership will provide national growth in the important U.S. market."

Justin Fisch, vice president, general manager, for U.S. Beverage, added, "We are honored to continue our relationship with Heineken Americas Export and their superb team of managers. We are very excited by the opportunity to take these extraordinary brands to new levels of success in the United States."

U.S. Beverage is a premium craft- and imported-beer sales and marketing company located in Stamford, Conn. Its brands include Innis & Gunn, Moosehead, Sonoma Cider, Malibu Beer and others.

Amsterdam-based Heineken N.V. has a portfolio of more than 250 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders, many of which are not available in the United States.

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