‘Fake’ Spanish beer made in the UK is undermining Carlsberg’s profits

The popularity of the Madrí Excepcional beer brand is undermining Carlsberg’s success in the United Kingdom, the CEO of the Danish brewing company told the British newspaper ‘The Telegraph’.

Arriving in UK bars in 2020, the Madrí Excepcional brand focuses on Spanish culture and presents itself as ‘the soul of Madrid’.

However, beer is Made in the English county of Yorkshire by the Canadian-American multinational Molson Coors, also owner of brands such as Doom Bar, Carling and Blue Moon, among others.

According to data experts at NIQ, the company world leader in consumer intelligenceMadrí Excepcional generated sales of £93.3 million (around €109 million) last year.

The Molson Coors website also notes that in the second quarter of 2024, Madrí Excepcional generated the third largest sales revenue of all lager beers sold in UK premises.

Responding to these figures, rival brand Carlsberg’s managing director Jacob Aarup-Andersen told The Telegraph: “We are seeing a high competition continued in beers around the world. The battleground is fierce in the UK.”

“There is no doubt that one of the brands that is doing well in the UK is Madrí Excepcional. If you look at market share, they have done well. I think they have found a good proposition. So, you have to congratulate them“.

Several experts believe that the sharp rise in popularity of Madrí Excepcional is due to a marketing push in early 2022, a time when concerns about COVID-19 restrictions had significantly eased in the UK.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the brand sought to become synonymous with holidays in the sun, a coveted dream by many Britons emerging from successive lockdowns.

A strategy to gain popularity that pays off

However, the use of the false allusion to continental Europe It is not a marketing strategy used only by Molson Coors. For example, Heineken brews beer in Manchester Italian Birra Moretti for the British market.

San Miguel Corporation, a conglomerate founded in the Philippines and headquartered in Spain, is also manufactured by Carlsberg in Northampton for British customers.

However, despite being made in Yorkshire, Madrí Excepcional has a Spanish linkSpecifically, it was created in collaboration with La Sagra, a Spanish craft brewery also owned by Molson Coors.

Earlier this year, the international general manager of the Spanish brewery Estrella Galicia stated that the advertising of Madrí Excepcional was not “very honest”.

“They have made a very good job in terms of marketing“That’s clear. However, it’s all a bit complicated because people think they’re drinking a Spanish beer, but it’s not,” Aitor de Artaza told The Telegraph.

In the UK there are rules prohibiting misleading advertising, although it is acceptable for brewers tobe inspired by other countries and culturesMolson Coors has not yet responded to Euronews’ request for comment.

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Meanwhile, Carlsberg reported results earlier this week. The company’s cost cutting offset the impact on sales of the weak consumer demandprompting the company to raise its full-year profit forecast.

The total volume of beers that were soldfell by 1.7% in Western Europe during the first half of the year.