Heineken UK is celebrating the tenth year of its Star Retailer scheme.
The scheme which supports retailers in the convenience channel with category advice has made an investment of £10 million till date.
The brewer said over 40 percent of UK symbols and independent stores have participated in the scheme, with the average store engaged benefitting from 12 percent category growth. Launched in 2009-10, the scheme has since helped over 18,000 stores in total.
Toby Lancaster, category and shopper marketing director at Heineken UK, commented: “It’s a great achievement that the Star Retailer scheme has been able to help over 40 percent of symbols and independent stores across the UK by contributing an average additional £6000 to the cider and beer Category per Retailer.
“We’ve got some exciting innovations in place for our tenth year, including making our digital offering even better as well as some exciting new displays for retailers to use. We’re excited to see the continued success of the scheme.”
This year, the scheme will roll out digital initiatives such as exclusive branded social media content for stores to post on their feeds. Retailers will also be provided with greater category information accessible through the Star Retailer website.
The scheme will continue to focus on key events, most notably the Euro 2020 football championships, of which Heineken is the lead Beer sponsor, by supplying retailers with displays and incentives to engage them, as well as bringing the latest product launches to the convenience channel.