United Kingdom: Molson Coors to invest additional £8.1 mln to boost beer sales

Molson Coors is to boost marketing spend by 16% this year in a bid to increase beer sales, The Marketing Week reported on January, 18.

The brewer, which owns Carling, Coors Light, Grolsch and Worthington’s, has decided to invest an additional £8.1 mln in marketing in 2010.

The firm hopes the move will help “stimulate the beer category”.

Beer sales declined 0.8% in the third quarter of last year with pub sales hardest hit, down 4.7% in the three months to 30 September.

Molson is looking to boost on-trade sales by launching the Pint Right Programme in March.

The programme includes “Cellar-to-Glass” bar staff training with the aim of improving the pub “experience”.

The brewer is also to launch a series of initiatives designed to get more people choosing beer with their pub meals.

It hopes to tap into the growth in ethnic food sales which it says “brings with it huge potential” for Molson Coors brands such as Cobra.