Guinness hopes for Surge in French sales

Guinness hopes to double its sales in France by July thanks to its "Surger" delivery system that uses a sonic blast to give the…

Guinness hopes to double its sales in France by July thanks to its "Surger" delivery system that uses a sonic blast to give the beer its trademark foamy head.

Gael Julliand, Guinness's commercial director for France, said the brewer hoped 2,500 Surger units would be installed by July, compared with roughly 1,500 sites currently selling draught Guinness and another 1,000 selling bottles of the stout.

Surger, launched in Japan two years ago, was tested at bars in French ski resorts since December.

It is now being launched across continental Europe.

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Mr Julliand said the company hoped the product would be a "door opener" to bars which did not want to install the pumps needed to deliver traditional draught Guinness. If volumes warranted it, they could then upgrade.

The French beer market, like others in Europe, was in slow decline but customers were moving upmarket, turning to niche beers like Guinness, he said.

He estimated the brand currently had 3 per cent of the total French market.