Obolon brewers have made the shelf life of Obolon Svitle' beer shorter. This novelty is intended to globally change the situation in the beer market. From now on, consumers can always drink only fresh beer.
Shelf Life Becomes Three Times Shorter Based on laboratory research and degustation brewers established that Obolon beer that has been kept for over 60 days is not exposed to any changes in its physical and chemical characteristics. However, as no preservatives are used in production of the Obolon beer, its taste and aroma change. This substantially affects consumers' perception of beer. After the research was carried out, technological operations and launch the production of Obolon beer with a shelf life of up to 60 days. This is the period during which the taste and aroma of beer remain the same. Simultaneously work has started on selection of those barley and hop sorts for the production of Obolon Light beer that will improve its taste. Implementation of recent brewing achievements has helped to improve Obolon’s beer production system. The pasteurization degree of beer has been substantially reduced. The main novelty was a change in the shelf life of Obolon Light which has been reduced from 180 to 60 days.
The brewery’s own facility for malt production launched Obolon Brewery fully controls conditions in which brewer’s barley is grown. It is important to create the recipe for malt preparation. One requires only fresh and good-quality malt to brew fresh beer. An introduction of a full malt production cycle helped in this respect. Brewer’s barley grows in the brewery’s own fields, its selection is based on modern science, and barley is couched in Europe’s most modern malt plant.
Changes in the production and logistics process The shorter shelf life of beer requires dramatic changes in the supply, production and logistics system. From now on, beer will be bottled in smaller batches, but more often. Accordingly, the logistics system is changed to allow for more frequent beer deliveries from the brewery to warehouses and from warehouses to trade outlets. This is why the maximum delivery period for Obolon Svitle to the remotest populated areas of Ukraine will be 10−14 days.
A changed design The design of the Obolon Svitle package has been changed along with the improved taste and shortened shelf life. The new label follows a modern and dynamic style though the main classical elements of Obolon design have been preserved. Its design is dynamic and includes a lot of pure, white color which promotes freshness of the renewed beer. In support of the brand positioned as the Beer of Your Motherland', elements of traditional Ukrainian symbolism have been added to the design.
Comments:
Valentyna Mykusevych, Quality Director, Obolon Corporation: Beer is not a cognac and should not be kept for a long time. It is a living organism and it ages with time. The sunlight and temperature in which it is kept, affects the taste of the beverage. The taste of beer changes when affected by these factors. So, we decided to make its shelf life shorter'.
Vitaliy Tkachenko, Marketing Director, Obolon Corporation: The decision to change the design was quite difficult for us. Obolon’s brand appeared in 1992 and consumers have become used to it. We have never changed the taste of the beer and have renewed the label design only once, in 2007. Obolon’s design is regarded as a classical example of Ukrainian beer design. Most respondents said during a survey that the brand’s design was conservative. At the same time, consumers confirmed that they wanted to be progressive and modern and consume only a high-quality product. Such perceptions were proof for us that a change was needed'.
Aleksey Bezuglyi, Director of the Marketing Department for the Beer Market, Obolon Corporation: Obolon Company is very focused on studying consumers' needs. We started noticing more often, that increasingly more people treat freshness of the product and, especially, the time that has passed since bottling, as major advantages of beer. The fresher the beer, the better the taste. This is why, by reducing beer shelf life to 60 days, Obolon offers beer fans a product of guaranteed freshness wherever they buy it'.