Petainer sees demand for PET packaging from Spain & Portugal craft brewers
As part of global expansion plans, the UK company has appointed two local distributors for its petainerKEG; Dani Vall in Spain and Pedro Crispim in Portugal.
Desire for quality
Brett Lamont, sales director distribution, Petainer, told BeverageDaily, Spain and Portugal offer exciting opportunities with their rapidly growing craft beer markets.
“Petainer’s PET one-way petainerKeg is increasingly being used as a low-cost alternative to traditional steel kegs because it offers significant cost of ownership and sustainability benefits. It also provides enhanced product protection, making sure the beer is as good as the day it was brewed for up to a year,” he said.
One-way means the keg does one journey - when the beer is used, the keg gets recycled.
According to a report by Euromonitor; ‘Craft Beer: Coming of Age or Past Its Prime?’ (February 2017), craft beer growth has begun to decelerate in its core US market and at the same time, appeal for products with authenticity and heritage continues to spread throughout the world bringing opportunities and challenges for microbreweries and the wider industry.
“A combination of aspirational consumption and a desire for quality is driving consumers across much of the world to drink less, but drink better. The rise of microbrewers broadly aligns with this trend,” the report claims.
“The consumer search for more flavorful beers is an important driver behind the rise of craft, but the trend goes beyond this. Notions of localisation, authenticity and heritage play a key role, as does a desire to avoid what is seen as the established mainstream.”
iBEERian Awards
For example, Portugal launched its ‘Beervana’ inaugural craft beer festival in May last year called Pátio da Cerveja, its first iBEERian Awards, and opened a second brewpub in Lisbon, Chimera Brewpub, located in a converted 18th century coach tunnel in the warehouse district of Alcântara.
“It wouldn’t have been very long ago that ordering a beer in Portugal meant one of two things: Sagres or Super Bock. These two everyman lagers, both created during military dictatorships, absolutely dominated the country’s beer landscape. But the scene is changing quicker than it takes to brew a batch of hop-heavy Imperial Pale Ale,” said Kevin Raub, Portugal-based travel journalist, writing for Lonely Planet.
“People are ready for something different in Lisbon – they are ready for more than just two beers,” addded Adam Heller, co-owner, Chimera.
“During the dictatorship, the society was so nationalistic, they didn’t want to import or export or the influence of anything coming in. They wanted to preserve their identity. The mentality was so closed but it’s ready to change.”
Petainer also has an online shop for smaller breweries. Brewers can choose, purchase and take delivery of their kegs in three to four days. There is also a petainerKeg App for instructions on correct use with Well-Type Fitting (S and D type with no pressure release valve) and with Flat-Type Fitting (A type with no pressure release valve) to be launched soon.
