Heineken has refused to be drawn on a report it is set to invest in Brazilian business Better Drinks.
Brazilian business publication Exame has reported Heineken is lining up the acquisition of a minority stake in the Praya craft beer brand owner.
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A deal is “in the final stages of completion” and an announcement “should take place at the end of June”, Exame said, citing unnamed sources “with knowledge of the matter”.
Approached by Just Drinks, a Heineken spokesperson declined to comment.
This publication has also approached Better Drinks for comment.
Better Drinks was formed when former Anheuser-Busch executive Felipe Szpigel teamed up with ex-Red Bull exec Felipe Della Negra. The two men joined forces to launch F!ve, the RTD brand Szpigel had set up, in Brazil.
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By GlobalDataThe group is made up of a clutch of brands that also includes Vivant canned wine, Mamba water) and yerba-mate brand Baer-Mate.
According to Exame, Better Drinks generated revenues of 50m reais ($9.5m) in 2023.
Heineken provided limited financial data on specific markets but, in 2023, the company said it saw a rise in underlying net revenue “in the teens” on an organic basis.
The company pointed to “premiumisation, pricing and volume growth” and said “beer volume grew by a low-single-digit, outperforming the market”.
In 2023, Heineken said it would invest 1.5bn reais into two breweries in north-east Brazil to expand production of three of its beer brands.
In October last year, the brewing giant said it would work to have its name removed from the Brazil government’s list of companies accused of having labour conditions akin to slavery.
The so-called ‘dirty list’ (Lista Suja) included Heineken-owned brewery Cervejarias Kaiser.
But the brewer said its inclusion on the list was “the result of a procedural error”, as the accusation related to logistics contractor Transportadora Sider. “We understand that there are differences in interpretation and application of the legislation on the case,” it said at the time.
Last month, Heineken acquired a minority stake in Dutch ready-to-drink brand Stëlz for an undisclosed sum.
Last year, Heineken acquired a minority stake in Served, the UK ready-to-drink brand co-founded by pop star Ellie Goulding. Served sells a namesake range of hard seltzers aimed at consumers seeking “a modern, health-conscious, social lifestyle”.
