Anheuser-Busch InBev, Sued Over Watered-Down Beer
Anheuser-Busch isn’t owned by an American
company anymore, when did that happen?
Anheuser-Busch
brewer of American classic beers such as: Budweiser, Stella Artois, Beck's, Bud
Light, Busch Beer, Michelob, Natural Light, and Shock Top. Anheuser-Busch
famously known for the Budweiser Clydesdale's was acquired by InBev in 2008 for
approximately $70 a share that’s about $52 billion in cash money (Market
Watch).
Who is InBev?
InBev is the product
of a 2004 merger between the Belgian company, Interbrew and the Brazilian
company AmBev. Essentially, Anheuser-Busch is now owned by a Belgian and Brazilian
multinational conglomerate, which has operations in North America, Latin
America, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, and Asia Pacific (inbev.com).
There are over 200 different brands under InBev globally. The current President
of Anheuser-Busch is Luiz Fernando Edmond and InBev’s CEO is Brazilian native Carlos
Alves de Brito.
What is this Law Suit About and What does it mean
for International Operations?
Nina Giampaoli and
John Elbert residents of Sonoma County California filed a law suit against Anheuser-Busch
InBev earlier this week stating that, “alleging the company waters down
Budweiser and other beers "significantly" to boost profits” (CNN.com).
CNN did their own alcohol content testing and found less than 1% differences
between what is in the beer and what is printed on the label. Anheuser-Busch
has denied any wrong doing and has launched an ad campaign with their canned
water that the company donates to the American Red Cross and disaster relief
organizations worldwide every year. According to the lawsuits lead lawyer Josh
Boxer in a statement about Anheuser’s bottling practices; “These alcohol
readings, taken six times a second as the finished product is bottled, will
confirm the allegations made by the growing number of former employees who keep
coming forward to tell us the truth…" (ibtimes.com). this law suit is in
the beginning stages and I am uncertain what the implications will be on Anheuser-Busch
InBev if the records find that they have been watering down their beer.
I believe that if it
is happening in U.S. operations it is probably occurring in InBev’s facilities
abroad. Perhaps this issue goes all the way up to InBev’s CEO Carlos Alves de
Brito, in which case the courts in the U.S. Brazil, Belgium, and those of where
each factory is located will have to deal with this “watered-down beer” issue. Each
country involved has different laws governing product labeling and the some
regions InBev may not have a law suit but lose valued customers instead. We
will just have to wait and see what the outcome of this law suit is and if it
will become a multinational suit against InBev.
Works Cited
Spain, William; Goldstein, Steve. Anheuser-Busch
accepts $52 billion InBev offer. MarketWatch. 2008-07-14.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/01/business/beer-alcohol-test/index.html
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