www.hispaniconline.com/HE/2008_04/Features-TecateMarket -
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Published on: 1/1/2008
Last Visited: 5/27/2008
"I think what is unique about Tecate is how specific its target is," says Eduardo Casas, brand director for Tecate and the new Tecate Light.
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"Light beer has been growing in the U.S.," Casas says."The light beer category represents 50 percent of [sales] in the U.S. and is one of the few growing industries in the U.S." The publication Beverage Marketing Quarterly echoes those figures and adds that it's the import specialty market that has driven the growth in recent years. In the summer of 2007, Tecate introduced its lower-calorie variety to the U.S.And the first announcement about the plan to launch Tecate Light in the U.S. occurred in September 2006.Tecate Light had already found big success in Mexico as the country's first and top-selling light beer.The beer launched in Mexico in 1992, because the company saw light beer sales growth in the U.S. and interpreted that as an opportunity for sales in Mexico, says Casas.However it wasn't until about four years ago that Mexican beer drinkers really tapped into light brew. "Right now it's the fastest growing brand in Mexico and outsells the other competitors 10 to 1," Casas says.
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They are promoting it," says Casas."One of the reasons we launched it is that Wal-Mart came to us and said they [were interested].FoodCity in Phoenix has been asking for it for years.They see what is going on the other side of the border."Tecate Light however, will have its own brand image.As both Casas and Boughton describe, the original Tecate beer will be targeted more toward the first-generation Mexican immigrant in the U.S., whereas "the light brands will focus on Mexican-American born consumers," says Casas.
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"We are still in the first year, continuing to generate awareness as part of the launch," says Casas.