Heineken UK plans to raise a cold beer to chancellor George Osborne following budget announcement
Heinken plans to ‘raise a cold pint’ to chancellor George Osborne after he announced a freeze on Scotch whisky while also choosing to scrap the alcohol duty escalator, cut beer duty by 1 per cent and freeze duty on cider and spirits.
In announcing his budget today, Osborne cut the price of beer by 1p per pint for the second year running and scrapped the the alcohol escalator on wine and spirits, although the cost of wine will continue to rise with inflation.
Heineken, which produces cider brands such as Strongbow, Bulmers and lager brands Fosters, Kronenbourg and Desperados, was buoyed by the news this afternoon.
Jacco Van Der Linden, UK marketing director for Heineken, responded: “We’ll be raising a cold pint to the Chancellor tonight, his announcement on cider and beer duty will be cheered at the breweries, pubs, bars and living rooms across the UK. By freezing cider duty and again reducing beer duty, he sends a clear message that brewing, cider making and the great British pub are important to the UK’s economy, including of course, the marketing and creative services community.”
Further reaction to the improvement in export to the UK and business benefits within the marketing community have also been released by the Advertising Association and ISBA.