Controlling roughly 41% of the market, the 2018 global revenue of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) amounted to $54.6 billion, $15.5 billion of which accounted for beer, according to CNBC. The total beer and malt beverage market in the U.S. is worth $119 billion.
Anheuser-Busch recently acquired Craft Brew Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ:BREW). The deal values the craft brew company, which is Portland-based, at $321 million. Anheuser-Busch has owned 31.2% of Craft Brew Alliance, and now they will buy the remaining shares for $16.50 each. Before the news broke, the craft brew stock was valued less than $8 per share.
That's not the only significant news surrounding the beer giant. In early 2020, Anheuser-Busch will launch Bud Light Seltzer. With the current hard seltzer market worth $550 million, according to UBS analyst Sean King, by 2021 that worth could reach $2.5 billion.
"The reason I came here was to move the company to the next level," says Michel Doukeris, Anheuser-Busch's CEO. Doukeris became CEO in late 2017, having previously served as the company's chief sales officer. "I'm trying to reframe the company."
In light of the rising popularity of craft brews, it's not surprising that Doukeris's reframing of Anheuser-Busch has included moves to acquire a craft brewing company. The growing demographic of non-beer drinkers over the last few decades, including those who prefer wine or hard malts, also sheds light on the emergence of Bud Light Seltzer.
"There are no shortcuts," according to Anheuser-Busch's vision. "We believe in taking responsibility and owning the results. That's why we're constantly raising the bar and are never satisfied with 'good enough.' We know that together we can achieve our Dream of a Better World."
Perhaps Anheuser-Busch decided that focusing on beer alone wasn't good enough. The overall shifts in the market of additional focus on consumers of non-beer products and non-traditional beers by leading beverage giants should prove interesting as 2020 is around the corner. These ongoing purchases and emerging products may help the company take responsibility to maintain its position as a global giant.