Dawn of the Office "Bar"

By: John Fullerton



Last week I attended an informative COPA seminar hosted by "AB Inbev" brewers of Labatt Blue, Budweiser and Stella Artois. Josh Belliveau, Inbev Canada's Trade & Marketing Manager took us through the ins and outs of the beer industry while pointing out potential opportunities for office supply dealers.
 Inbev is interested in exploring the feasibility of distributing a countertop draught beer dispenser to the offices of Canada. They are interested in partnering with Canada's office product dealers in distributing these units.

The countertop draught unit is an all-in-one-plug-and-play, self refrigerated solution created by Inbev for their "Stella Artois" brand. The countertop unit was developed as a solution for smaller, more intimate bars and restaurants that wish to serve proper draught beer without investing in a full-scale tap system. The Unit uses 12 L keg w/ bottle-in-bottle technology, which means the unit does not require gas. It is essentially the Keurig machine for beer!

Josh Belliveau of AB Inbev

Inbev believes that there may be an application for offices that may want to host "celebration" events in their offices. Thus they are exploring the possibility of opening up distribution of these units to an office environment. Their studies show that "millennials" are interested in more than just the traditional opportunities that a regular job may entail - things like good pay, benefits, increased vacation time - they also want to work in an environment that contributes to their social being. So things like an office celebration for a job well done or a finished project is an important feature on where millennials choose to work. This is where the countertop draught unit may be of interest in an office environment.



Inbev demonstrates the draught countertop unit to interested COPA members.

Inbev is interested in piloting the Stella Artois countertop draught beer dispenser in selected urban markets. They are looking for potential partners in the Office Supply industry who are interested in leveraging their network of clients in selling these units.

If this is something that your firm might be interested in, contact COPA for more information on the program. They will be happy to point you in the right direction.