OREANDA-NEWS. December 17, 2008. Heineken, which owns a controlling stake in the Rechitsapivo joint venture, has completed the rebranding of the Rechitskoye beer brand, says a press release of the company.

“The design of the brand has been changed. The label, the form, colour and a bottle have acquired new looks,” the company says. The company has also marketed a new lager beer.

Rechitskoye has been a leading beer brand in the Gomel oblast. According to AC Nielsen, in September 2008 the share of this brand increased to 20.3%.

In late September, Heineken announced it intended to raise the local brand Dneprovskoye to the national level. This beer is also made by Rechitsapivo and for quite a long time has been the local brand in the Gomel oblast. In the course of the project, the design of the brand has been changed cardinally too.

Rechitsapivo is a big beer producer of Belarus. According to the Belgospischeprom concern, in January-November 2008 the company accounted for 7.5% (6th place) of the total beer production in Belarus. In January-November 2008, Rechitsapivo made 2.473 million decalitres of beer, down 7.3% from the same period 2007.

A reminder, Heineken N.V acquired a 51% stake in Rechitsapivo in May 2008 and bought the Syabar brewery in late 2007.