Heineken

Lore & Background

Heineken's history began on 15 February 1864 when Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought De Hooiberg brewery in Amsterdam, a brand founded in 1592. In 1873, after hiring Dr. Elion, a student of Louis Pasteur, to develop a yeast for Bavarian bottom fermentation, Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij was established and the first Heineken brand beer was brewed. The beer won the Medaille d'Or at the International Maritime Exposition in Paris in 1875 and began regular shipments there, with sales topping 6.4 million litres, making Heineken the largest beer exporter to France at the time. Four early awards were won, with the Medaille d'Or and Diplome d'Honneurs still mentioned on the label. In 2013, Heineken stopped producing brown bottles for the Dutch market in favour of the green colour used for exports. The original brewery is now the Heineken Experience museum. Heineken launched its first non-alcoholic beer, Heineken 0.0, in 2017, which was evaluated as having almost the same taste as the full-alcohol version and lower in calories and sugar than soda.

Reader's Guide

Heineken's significance lies in its long history as a global pale lager, its distinctive green bottle and red star, and its extensive marketing and sponsorship presence. The brand became particularly associated in the UK with the slogan 'Refreshes the Parts Other Beers Cannot Reach', coined by Terry Lovelock, which was named one of the most famous ad campaigns of the 20th century and passed into everyday speech. Heineken has been a major sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Euro, Rugby World Cup, and the FIA Formula One World Championship, and has had a longstanding relationship with the James Bond franchise since 1997, appearing in eight films. In 2015, Heineken won the Creative Marketer of the Year Award for the second time. The brand also launched a limited-edition transparent dumbphone called 'The Boring Phone' in 2024. Heineken's activities in Russia drew scrutiny: after announcing in March 2022 it was leaving Russia following the war in Ukraine, investigators reported it hired over 240 new staff and launched 61 new products that year, including entering the non-alcoholic carbonated beverage market. In August 2023, Heineken sold its Russian operations to Arnest Group for €1 plus a €100M debt repayment commitment, expecting a total loss of €300 million.

Did You Know?

• The slogan 'Refreshes the Parts Other Beers Cannot Reach' was coined by Terry Lovelock after he woke at 3am with the phrase in his mind during a photoshoot in Morocco.
• Heineken reportedly spent €60 million for its inclusion in the James Bond film Skyfall, more than double Daniel Craig's pre-residual salary.
• In 2024, Heineken collaborated with Bodega to release 'The Boring Phone', a transparent dumbphone with only 5,000 units manufactured.