Drink smart or don’t drink at all. This seems to be the message behind the world’s biggest beer brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev’s(AB InBev) global initiative to investa whopping USD 1 billion aimed at reducing the harmful use of alcohol by end of 2025. The funds will be used in social marketing campaigns and related programmes in India and other countries.
In India, the company has partnered with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) as well as OlaCabs to work together to further the message of smart and responsible drinking, it said.
Stating that the company aspires to a healthier world where every experience with beer is a positive one, AB InBev- India Business Unit President Ben Verhaert said: “Our theme this year promotes the idea that making smart choices about drinking today helps make tomorrow possible.”
Since change in behaviour patterns is necessary to achieve a global culture of smart drinking consumers, AB InBev said it has launched a multi-city pilot programme in six cities around the world to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by 10 per cent.
By the end of 2025, the company also aims to expand their product portfolio to ensure that at least 20 per cent of AB InBev’s global beer volume is ‘No or Lower-Alcohol’ to reduce harmful alcohol use, it said.
The company said it has rolled out a new campaign called ‘Who’s Your Bob’ for consumers in four cities – Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Mumbai with an aim to promote the message of “not drinking and driving”.