Heineken Silver is rolling out nationally this spring in 12-oz slim cans, 12-oz bottles, and 24-oz cans. It will be available where other Heineken products are sold at both on-premise and off-premise retail channels across the country. The Heineken brand – which for a long time was focused solely on its flagship namesake 5.4% beer – expanded with alcohol-free Heineken 0.0 in 2019 and now has launched the lower-alcohol (4% ABV) Heineken Silver in the US. Enjoying a crisp and refreshing lager sometimes comes at the expense of taste and quality, but beer lovers can say goodbye to compromise with the introduction of Heineken Silver," said Borja Manso Salinas, Vice President of Marketing for Heineken Brand. "It's crafted to meet the needs of a new generation of experience seekers with a lower-carb, lower-cal recipe that won't fill you up when you're getting down, making it the perfect choice for sipping at concerts, sporting events, or any occasion where friends gather to enjoy all of life's flavor."

Heineken hopes to reinvigorate the lager category for Gen Y and Gen Z drinkers with the launch of Heineken Silver. Helping bringing in those new drinkers will be a prominent place for Heineken Silver at partnership events throughout the year: including Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the US Open Tennis Championships and Formula 1 races, and it will serve as the title sponsor of the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 in November. The new portfolio: Heineken, Heineken 0.0, and Heineken Silver Heineken 0.0 continues to grow and already represents around 7% of the franchise in the US,” he notes.

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Consumers will be able to get their hands on the real Heineken® Silver throughout Europe from 7 th April 2022. With a crisp flavour and a subtle finish, Heineken®Silver has a lighter drinking profile that's designed for modern taste preferences. Crafted using the same star-quality natural ingredients as Heineken®Original, it's a crystal-clear, all-round crowd pleaser that is extra fresh – for real. The innovation behind Silver, is one of the most significant innovations over the past 150 years of the Heineken brand, and is set to captivate a younger audience that seek a beer that not only satisfies their taste buds but also aligns with their desire for moderation and style.” A combination of wider consumer interest in the light lager category, alongside a demand for premium, is providing outlets with the opportunity to bolster both value and volume sales. Heineken Silver®, the recently launched premium light lager, taps not only into the increasing appetite for lighter tasting lagers, but also speaks to the consumer need for brands that are more premium; a vital trend for operators to capitalise on to grow revenue. The most anticipated product launch in company history, Heineken Silver takes center stage as a premium new option in the light lager category that makes up nearly half of the U.S. beer market by volume. At 4% alcohol by volume (ABV), Heineken Silver is brewed specifically for the American palate with a more accessible flavor profile and 3.2g of carbs and 95 calories in a 12-oz serving. And Manso is believes that lower and no alcohol options will become a significant chunk of the US portfolio – pointing to the success of Heineken 0.0 in the US over the last four years (Heineken 0.0 is the #1 non-alcoholic beer in the US market).

Manso is confident that Heineken Silver can serve to open up a new market, rather than simply bringing existing Heineken drinkers over to the new product. But this emerging segment doesn’t just present an opportunity to grow sales from existing on-trade consumers. It also has the power to attract a new group of adult drinkers. Half of Gen Y and Z consumers (18-34-year-olds) drink beer in a pub or bar, of which 25% claim that they had planned to drink more beer in pubs last year than they did 7​, as outlined in the Heineken® Beer Report 2022. So, brands that connect with these generations will help attract them into outlet. The Beer Report also shows that younger drinkers are seeking out lighter-tasting, sessionable options and within the first year of launch, Heineken Silver® is more successfully recruiting this younger generation of drinkers vs other new lager launches 8​. Bram Westenbrink, Global Heineken® Brand Director at HEINEKEN, said: "We launched Heineken® Silver in the metaverse first as an ironic take on a product launch to highlight that we believe the best way to experience Heineken® is in the real world. Today we are really playing with this virtual to real world, with 'phygital' events across Europe, celebrating the new addition to the Heineken® family by delivering the best of both worlds; engaging entertainment like in the metaverse but with 'in person' experiences and a beer you can actually drink!" Alexander Wilson, category & commercial strategy director – off trade at Heineken UK, said: “Our research shows growing popularity for premium and lighter style drinks, particularly among Gen Y and Gen Z drinkers who are looking for better quality beverages while also moderating their alcohol intake. As lager under-indexes with Gen Y and Gen Z drinkers, the opportunity is to add lager to their shopping baskets. Heineken Silver offers these drinkers a more inclusive and accessible taste that also meets their needs for a more refreshing lager, opening up new opportunities to drive incremental sales for retailers.” With its 4% alcohol by volume (ABV), Heineken Silver is crafted with malted barley, water, and a ‘small but significant extra ingredient’, Heineken's signature A Yeast.

Nutritional values

Heineken Silver launched in Vietnam in 2019 and had reached 28 markets by the end of last year, including China, India and Western Europe. But to ensure success in the US, the brand is ‘brewed specifically for the American palate with a more accessible flavor profile’.

Heineken Silver has 3.2g of carbs, 95 calories and 4% ABV in a 12-oz serving. That compares to flagship Heineken, which has 11g of carbs, around 149 calories and 5.4% ABV in a 12-oz serving. Heineken 0.0, meanwhile, has 0% alcohol, 69 calories and 16g of carbs.

Disclaimer

HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. We employ over 85,000 employees and operate breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on Reuters under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken N.V. (OTCQX: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTCQX: HKHHY).

The company believes it can build on that momentum with the large scale US launch of Heineken Silver this year - championing it as the perfect drink for consumers looking for a refreshing beer for sessionable occasions. Heineken Silver has a lower ABV than the original and was designed to be accessible to more consumers and especially appealing to those who enjoy drinkable, sessionable brews without sacrificing flavor,” explains Manso. Like other beer majors, Heineken has set its sights on becoming a major player in low and no alcohol: led by Heineken 0.0, its global low and no alcohol portfolio reached 15.5 million hectoliters in 2022. Heineken Silver is billed as a premium new option in the light lager category: a chunky category which makes up nearly half of the US beer market by volume. Sessionable occasions​ Pubs ready to attract a new customer base and to boost lager sales should sign up to the Heineken Silver® free pint giveaway. Find out more here​ ​

Its launch comes in light of waning interest in lager from younger generations. According to Heineken, although the lager category has grown by 34% since 2019, sales among Gen Z and Gen Y drinkers have declined by 2%, while penetration among 18-to-24-year-olds has halved over the last seven years. Heineken Silver is crafted with malted barley, water, and a small but significant extra ingredient, Heineken's signature A Yeast.And it's brewed to create full-bodied flavor without a bitter finish, while staying true to Heineken's passion for quality and commitment to premium ingredients. Heineken Silver has been designed to offer a differentiated proposition to Heineken and Heineken 0.0 (which hit the US in 2019 after a European launch). Brand Heineken has proved to be a strong point for the company: with the premium brand showing ‘excellent momentum’ in 2022 with growth of 12.5% in 2022 on 2021 and 31.5% compared to 2019, ‘significantly outperforming’ the total global beer market.