Introduction Stage
The Heineken brand is an example of a product that has gone through the product life cycle over the 140 years it has been on the market. Heineken was first produced and marketed in the year 1864 In Amsterdam under the brand name “Workman’s Ale”. This marked the introductory phase of its life cycle. At this time the market was devoid of high quality purer beers and Heineken utilized this loophole to venture into the production of beers targeting the high-end segment of the market by putting the market a beer named the “Gentleman’s Beer” that was produced through a totally unique technique of bottom fermentation. The introduction of this beer marked the start of the Heineken brand (Donna 15). During this phase, the brand met several challenges that included convincing customers that Heineken was better than the available brands. In addition, the price was high resulting in low sales. Most of the marketing was done in the Netherlands, initially in Amsterdam before spreading out to the rest of the country as the customer base grew (Heineken International par.4).
Growth Stage
It can be argued that the growth stage of the Heineken brand is still in process (Wikipedia par.3). This stems from the fact that the brand is always penetrating a new markets as recent as 2010. The growth phase of the Heineken brand started in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War when the importation of beer to the Netherlands became impossible. These circumstances facilitated the growth of the then local beer that was Heineken, since imported beer became scarce and expensive (Reamish and Ashford 33). This growth phase saw the expansion of brewing plants in and around Amsterdam facilitating the company to become the largest exporter of beer to France in 1874.
In addition, the brand grew in the following years through the application of new discoveries such as cooling systems, the A-yeast strain for fermentation, and electric lighting systems. All these innovations led to increased production and public awareness of the Heineken brand. In the early 1900’s new players entered the market forcing a reduction in the price of the beer-making the management changed strategies by promoting on-premises sales. The growth phase of Heineken continued with expansion into other parts of the world including Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and the Americas (Onkvisit and Shaw 43). The expansion entails acquisitions, mergers, and the setting up of novel plants in the respective countries in order to boost and consolidate the Heineken brand.
Maturity Stage
The Heineken brand has reached the maturity stage in some markets across the globe (Karp 91). This is because of increased competition in the high-end segment of the beer market. As a result of this, the company has been forced to emphasize innovating the brand to get a grasp on the market. An example is in the United States of America in 2005, where, Heineken introduced a new Heineken light beer to ensure sustenance of the brand in a market where light beer is preferred to normal beers due to its low caloric index. Back home in the Netherlands, Heineken introduced a new form of beer in the same year called the DraughtKeg that can be consumed during any drinking forum. This was in a bid to maintain the relevance of the brand in the face of stiff competition from local and international brewers and market saturation.
Decline Stage
One could argue that the decline stage for Heineken as a brand has not yet been reached. This is because in almost any region that Heineken was introduced, it is still one of the leading brands due to its superior quality. Furthermore, the brand is still being introduced in new markets with remarkable success despite stiff competition (Stark 23).
Works Cited
Anselmo, Donna. Marketing demystified. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2010.
Heineken International. Brands. Heineken International, 2005. Web.
Karp, Robert. Issues in marketing. New York: Ardent Media, 1974.
Onkvisit, Sak and Shaw, John. International marketing: strategy and theory. Washington: Taylor & Francis, 2008. Print.
Reamish, Karen and Ashford, Ruth. Marketing planning, 2007-2008.London: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007.
Stark, John. Global product: Strategy, product lifecycle management and the billion customer question. London: Springer, 2007.
Stark, John. Product lifecycle management: 21st century paradigm for product realization. New York: Birkhäuser, 2005.
Wikipedia. Fast moving consumer goods. Wikipedia.org, 2011.Web.