Heineken's Latest Digital Journey in Southeast Asia: A Case Study

The food delivery sector is revolutionising the food and beverage (F&B) industry, even impacting renowned brewers like Heineken. Founded in 1864, Heineken, a Dutch beer company, originated when a 22-year-old named Gerard Adriaan Heineken acquired a brewery in Amsterdam. Presently, it stands as one of the globe's most prominent and easily recognizable beer brands, with its products distributed in more than 170 countries. As a leading brewing group with the second largest production volume worldwide ^[1], it is bolstering its performance and experiencing increased popularity from leveraging the food delivery platforms.

The beer market in Southeast Asia amounts to US$23.63bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 6.74% (CAGR 2023-2027) ^[2]. The area exhibits a growing inclination among consumers for alcoholic drinks, alongside a rising desire for low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beers. Heineken's strategic move into the food delivery sector with its original and non-alcoholic products aligns with these trends, showcasing their forward-looking strategy to remain relevant and easily reachable in the swiftly changing environment.

In this article, we conduct a Heineken Southeast Asian case study. By leveraging Dashmote’s Data Analytics SaaS platform, we analysed Heineken’s presence and growth on food delivery platforms throughout 7 key markets. 

Heineken can be found on various food delivery platforms in Southeast Asia, including Gojek, Grab, Lineman, and many more. The specific Heineken beer options available may vary depending on the restaurants and stores, but they typically include Heineken Lager, Heineken 0.0 Non-Alcoholic, and Heineken Silver.

According to Dashmote's data, Heineken has a food delivery beer presence exceeding 30% in 3 out of 7 countries in the current analysis. Notably, Heineken holds a strong position on Vietnamese food delivery platforms, where 64.1% of digital storefronts which sell beers also feature Heineken products. The Philippines ranks second, with a 35.5%  beer penetration rate, meaning that 1 in 3 beer-selling restaurants on food delivery platforms offers Heineken. Singapore follows closely with a penetration rate of 31.1%. It's worth mentioning that Heineken's presence in Indonesia (11.2%) and Thailand (8.1%) remains relatively low due to distinct drinking customs and alcohol consumption regulations in these regions.

Since the above analysis pertains to digital storefronts specifically selling beers rather than encompassing all digital storefronts on the platforms, it's essential to recognize that the beer market presence in Southeast Asia remains relatively limited on food delivery, ranging from 0.71% in Indonesia to 11.3% in Singapore. In contrast, when compared to Europe, where 9 countries have a Heineken presence exceeding 10% across all digital storefronts in the respective nation, Heineken still has room for gradual expansion to attain a more substantial foothold in the Southeast Asian market.

Based on Dashmote’s data, a majority of countries have witnessed a noteworthy growth in Heineken’s digital storefront listings on food delivery platforms spanning from Q4 2022 to Q3 2023. Indonesia experienced the largest increase of 25.1%. Following closely is Malaysia, exhibiting a remarkable growth of 24.0%, and Philippines with a commendable 18.7% expansion. Vietnam, although with the largest digital storefront base for Heineken, demonstrated the lowest positive growth of 0.9% over the past three quarters. Conversely, Thailand (-44.7%) encountered substantial declines in Heineken's digital storefront listings, which stands out as an intriguing exception among this trend of growth.

Upon scrutinising the data, it becomes apparent that the decline in the number of digital storefronts offering Heineken in Thailand is predominantly attributable to external factors rather than inherent issues with the brand itself. For example, the reduction of over 400 stores of Mini Big C, a convenience store in Thailand, on food delivery platforms during the timeframe under examination directly impacted the decrease in digital storefronts selling Heineken. This highlights that Heineken's performance in food delivery is significantly influenced by the broader market conditions and underlying macroeconomic variables.

In Southeast Asia, consumers who prioritise their health are actively looking for beer alternatives that offer reduced alcohol content or are entirely alcohol-free. The Non-Alcoholic Beer market in Southeast Asia is currently valued at US$1.91 billion in 2023, and it is projected to experience an annual growth rate of 8.84% (CAGR 2023-2027) ^[3]. In the midst of this expanding trend, Heineken 0.0 emerges as an ideal choice for those pursuing wellness and healthier living.

Dashmote's data reveals the promising early stages of Heineken 0.0's presence on Southeast Asian food delivery platforms. While it has already established itself in several countries, it has yet to make inroads into markets like Indonesia and Cambodia.

In Vietnam, Heineken 0.0 enjoys the most substantial digital presence, with 17.9% of digital storefronts selling beer offering this product. This achievement follows an impressive 60.1% digital growth from Q4 2022 to Q3 2023. Similarly, Singapore has seen a noteworthy increase of 79.7% in digital storefront listings for Heineken 0.0, resulting in a beer penetration rate of 7.2% in Q3 2023. In Malaysia, Heineken 0.0 also experienced a notable rise of 40.3% in digital storefront listings, even though its beer penetration rate remains relatively modest at 2.5%.

Dashmote is dedicated to assisting enterprises in overcoming obstacles and achieving success in the digital market. As the foremost provider of big data and AI analytics solutions in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, we enable brands to make informed strategic choices by offering thorough analysis and invaluable insights into the food delivery market and F&B trends. Interested in taking your online business to the next level? Please reach out to our team at contact@dashmote.com.

If you find this article valuable, you may wish to check out more of our blog articles on other beer brands, such as Carlsberg and Heineken in Europe.