Camerons and mystery brewery sign Cobra deal

A veil of secrecy is hanging over the exact details of a deal that will soon see two more breweries producing a premium Indian lager on British soil. Camerons and one other mystery British brewer have agreed to begin producing Cobra Beer, it was announced today.

Cobra says the new agreement, which includes a packaging deal with UK company Quinn Glass Ltd, will help accelerate the brand’s rapid growth in line with Cobra’s biggest ever advertising campaign. The brand is now looking to win over drinkers in the country’s pubs and bars.

Cobra’s operations in Belgium with Palm Breweries will continue, with the main focus being on Cobra’s extension brands, Cobra Zero, Cobra Light, King Cobra and Cobra Bite. Production at Browar Belgia in Poland will cease on July 31, following its acquisition by SABMiller last August.

The Indian brew has been produced by Wells and Young’s in the UK since 1997 and kegs of draught Cobra are set to continue rolling off the production lines at the Bedford brewery. Camerons will take over draught and bottled production while the mystery brewer, which is based in the northwest of England, will produce canned and bottled varieties.

Cobra’s business development director Chris Edgcumbe Rendle would not be drawn on the identity of the second British brewer signed up to the new deal today. He said Cobra had its sights set on priming an explosion in demand for its brew in the next few years with its year-on-year growth rising from 30% to 60% by 2011.

Edgcumbe Rendle added: “We’re really pleased to be working with Camerons and Quinn – they’re two of the most highly regarded companies in the British drinks industry. Together with Wells and Young’s and Palm, we now have an exceptional set of brewing partners that can support us and our ambitious growth targets in the next few years.”

Operations director for the brand Koen Cruycke heads up the team that has responsibility for the taste matching for Cobra. The team, which includes quality control manager Wojciech Czub and Edgcumbe Rendle, oversees the quality control at the brand’s various brewing locations.

Billy McKee, commercial director at Camerons Brewery, said the prospect of working with Cobra was an exciting one. He added: “We’re proud to have been able to surpass the stringent quality requirements they demand. The unique branding and market position of Cobra means the brand is destined for exceptional growth and we look forward to a long-term partnership supporting these aspirations as a major contract brewer.”

Peter Fitzgerald is sales and marketing director at Quinn Glass and he said work had already begun for his company to get up to speed with Cobra’s requirements. He said: “Over recent months we’ve been focussing on introducing the range of glass bottles and the contract filling at our facility in Cheshire. Cobra quickly identified the environmental benefits offered by Quinn, amongst them a reduction in emissions and road miles when the glass containers are manufactured and then filled at the same site.”