OnTap Magazine

66 | Spring 2021 | ontapmag.co.za EVENT RECAP Going virtual doesn’t mean going less interactive, a point emphasised by the 2nd VLB Africa Brewing Conference, which was held online from 24—26 August. Of course, nothing fully replaces face-to-face interaction, but a virtual format offered a viable alternative when the conference, originally set to take place in Mozambique in 2020, had to be postponed. Brewing experts from around the world, and especially from across Africa, gathered on the virtual campus of the renowned brewing research and training institute VLB-Berlin to share the latest developments in brewing technologies. The presentations and discussions covered along every step of the beer supply chain from recipe conception through to production, brewing, bottling, logistics, and delivery, to the point where the consumer takes that first sip of a great beer. Here are just some of the highlights. THE NEW NORMAL There’s no doubt African consumers love beer. In the context of sub-Saharan Africa, each country has its unique beer trends and consumption patterns although lager remains the largest category. Data from Euromonitor International (EI) shows overall beer consumption in 2020 declined, but non-alcoholic beers have been one of the few winners. In his key note talk Jacques Olivier, who covers EI’s drinks market across Africa, highlighted the significant demand for non-alcoholic beers during the Covid pandemic, particularly in South Africa and Nigeria (up 133% in SA and expected to grow five-fold by 2025). It is expected that there will be a bigger presence and demand for non-alcoholic beers with health-focused consumers, further helped by the category currently having no limitations on advertising or distribution. Other insights and trends identified by EI over the course of 2020 were online sales, innovation in packaging and flavours, and economy brands. “Online sales and beer delivery services rose dramatically due to pandemic related restrictions on movement,” says Jacques, “A great success story in Kenya is DrinkUp, a local alcohol door-to-door mobile app-based delivery service aimed Brewing Conference Josef Fontaine (VLB managing director), Sascha Scharlach (VLB Event Team) and Roberto Biurrun (VLB global sales manager) 2ndVLB Africa KAMINI DICKIE