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.