Carlsberg forays into high-end segment of Vietnam’s beer market with Tuborg

Carlsberg Vietnam will spend VND450 billion ($20.2 million) on its marketing programme for Tuborg, which is the number one beer brand by volume in Carlsberg Group’s portfolio. Accordingly, public relation (PR) girl teams will go to restaurants to introduce the new product. It is considered an important part of the marketing programme, helping Tuborg to penetrate the Vietnamese market.

According to Tayfun Uner, Carlsberg Vietnam’s general director, Carlsberg Vietnam has been planning to launch Tuborg in Vietnam since 2015. With the slogan “Open for fun”, Tuborg represents a dynamic and pioneering lifestyle.

Along with the VND450 billion ($20.2 million) marketing programme, Carlsberg Vietnam also spent $1 million on the bottle design. Accordingly, the unique packaging design includes an easy-to-use pull-off cap.

According to Carlsberg Vietnam’s representative, the company is trying to make Tuborg become one of three most favourite beer brands.

Phan Chi Dung, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Light Industry Department, told VIR that Tuborg used to be produced in Vietnam 20 years ago, but Carlsberg failed to popularise the Tuborg brand here.

According to the Vietnam Beer Alcohol Beverage Association (VBA)’s statistics published in January, as of 2015, there were 129 beer companies and facilities with a total capacity of 4.8 billion litres per year. In 2015 alone, the figure stood at 3.4 billion of litres.

Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Sabeco) is the largest beer manufacturer with a 2015 capacity of 1.38 billion litres. The runners up are Heineken with 729 million litres and Hanoi Beverage-Wine-Beer Joint Stock Corporation (Habeco) with 667.8 million litres, respectively. Carlsberg ranks fourth with 229 million litres.

According to expert opinion, Carlsberg have to try its best to enhance its position in the high-end beer segment because Heineken has planted a solid foot here.

Tuborg is the number one beer brand by volume in Carlsberg Group’s portfolio. It is currently present in more than 70 countries and territories around the world. In Vietnam, a bottle of Tuborg’s price at retail stores is between VND13,000 ($0.58) and VND15,000 ($0.67).