Global beer consumption is in decline. In New Zealand, it’s at its lowest since World War 2. So, to promote DB Export, we created a brilliant reason to drink more beer.
After six months of R&D we created Brewtroleum - a biofuel made from the yeast leftover after brewing DB Export. Brewtroleum reduced carbon emissions by 8%, meaning every time a man drank DB Export he was helping to save the world.
Up and down the country, men rallied to the planet’s defence. Thanks to their dedicated drinking we turned 58,000 tonnes of yeast slurry into 300,000 litres of biofuel – enough to supply 62 service stations around the country and to open our own flagship Brewtroleum station. Every day for six weeks, a fully branded super tanker travelled the country delivering Brewtroleum to the pumps, where it sold for $2.09 a litre.
Through TV, digital, outdoor, and on-pack advertising we encouraged men to keep drinking DB Export to ensure our supply of Brewtroleum never ran dry.
Suddenly men were no longer drinking beer, they were saving the world. Every sip made a difference, and every party was for the planet.
In a beer market declining at a rate of 6%, sales of DB Export increased by an unprecedented 10%, making DB Export the fastest growing beer brand in the country. Brewtroleum won New Zealand’s highest sustainability honour, and Heineken Global are now rolling the idea across 50 of their biggest breweries.