The St. Petersburg Times | The leading English-language newspaper in St. Petersburg

Two years ago the head of Heineken in Russia, Roland Pierme, set a target of capturing 15 percent of the Russian beer market.

“Russia is a very big country, and in order to survive you have to be a big company. Our market share should be at least 15 percent,” Pierme said in September 2003 to business daily Vedomosti.

Slowing Cocktail Sales Get Producers’ Creative Juices Flowing

THE MARKET IN FIGURES

The market for low-alcohol drinks lies mainly in the hands of four large producers that govern 60 percent of sales, according to the Business Analitika research agency. The rest is split between local producers.

The big four consists of Happyland with a 28 percent share, Ochakovo with 13 percent, and Borodino and Bravo with about 10 percent each, the agency reports.

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HEINEKEN VIES FOR NO. 2 SPOT IN RUSSIA

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Slowing Cocktail Sales Get Producers’ Creative Juices Flowing

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