Stella Artois takes on the BeerTender | Home sweet Heineken

An update -- It turns out that Stella Artois was really first in bringing 'pub draught quality beer' to the living room.

Heineken consumers who fantasize about having their own professional beer tap will soon be served: Heineken and Groupe SEB (the domestic equipment giant whose brands include Krups, Rowenta, Moulinex and Tefal) have co-created the BeerTender, a draught beer system to be used at home. The specially designed tap and accompanying keg was piloted in the Swiss market, and is now about to be rolled out in The Netherlands, with many other countries to follow soon. How does it work? Consumers insert the proprietary, compact, 4-litre Heineken keg in the BeerTender appliance, which keeps the keg at the right temperature and in optimal condition for a period of three weeks after the first beer is tapped. Beers taste just like they do in a real bar, minus the smoke and corny jokes. The BeerTender will cost EUR 279 (approx. USD 349) and a Heineken keg will set consumers back about EUR 9.49 (approx. USD 11.90), serving up to twenty glasses.

Opportunities

The BeerTender is yet another excellent example of what our sibling TRENDWATCHING.COM has dubbed BRANDED BRANDS: two brands combining their core competencies to deliver one truly new product or service.Now, if you’re in beer or domestic appliances, you KNOW you’d better start working on something cool and tasty. After all, this is going to be a BIG market, worldwide, and even though Heineken and Krups might steal the limelight, second and third runners-up shouldn’t do too badly, either. Want more beverage-examples? Check out a similar (r)evolution in home coffee making.If you’re in a wildly different business, it won’t hurt to take the BeerTender as a study case, and figure out which brand YOUR company is going to court to come up with a unique product or service. There’s also more than a hint of MATURIALISM in here, making professional goods accessible to the consumer market. A few home tapped beers will no doubt further broaden your horizon! 😉