More beer for women

It seems an international race is on to get women to drink more beer. Following our previous coverage of Karla, a functional German beer for women, comes a related spotting from Poland. Karmi, a regional brand produced by the Polish division of Carlsberg, is a dark beer that has been around for a while, and is characterized by its sweet caramel flavour. Categorized as a near-beer for its low alcohol content (0.1%), the drink has been revamped and is now being targeted to women. Besides pretty new packaging, Karmi has also introduced three new flavours: Poema di Caffé (coffee), Selua (pineapple/piña colada) and Lamai (guava, dragonfruit and mint). Unlike its German sister Karla, Karmi isn’t touted as having medicinal properties. Karmi’s positioning is all about flavour, low alcohol content and packaging. Although we can’t personally vouch for its taste, the coffee flavoured beer is stealing the show, and was singled out by Polish business magazine Handel as Poland’s best new FMCG product of 2006.