Beer war in Belgian supermarkets

A promotional stunt involving Jupiler at Albert Heijn Belgium has sparked controversy (once again), but other supermarket chains are also offering discounts of over 40 % on certain brands.

Six crates per customer

Albert Heijn has launched a promotional stunt on Jupiler, the market leader in the Belgian lager segment, offering three crates for 30 euros. That amounts to a discount of 35.5 % or a price of 1.67 euros per litre or 42 cents per bottle. Unlike the controversial “2+5 free” promotion at the beginning of November, this is a “while stocks last” promotion – but the retailer has stocked up on very large quantities, spokeswoman Ann Maes assures us. “At the same time, we hope our customers will show some solidarity.” Some Albert Heijn stores have signs with the message: “Max. 6 crates per customer.”

At the same time, other Belgian supermarkets are also running unusually strong offers on lager: crates of Stella Artois are available at a 25 % discount at Carrefour, Colruyt and Delhaize. Rival Cristal Alken at Colruyt and Delhaize, while Maes is even selling at a 41.1 % discount at Carrefour, Colruyt and Delhaize. In a shrinking lager market, brewers are trying to maintain their volumes by lowering prices, beer sommelier Sofie Vanrafelghem told Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. The drawback is that this strategy only reinforces the cheap image of Belgian lager.