San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) is the largest producer of beer in the Philippines, with nine out of ten beer
drinkers preferring its brands. San Miguel Beer was first produced by La Fabrica de Cerveza de San Miguel,
an upstart brewery in the heart of Manila that began its operations in 1890. It received the Royal Grant from
the Spanish king to brew beer in the Philippines, then a colony of Spain. In 1963, the brewery was renamed
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to reflect its growing ventures into food and packaging. As the beer business grew
at a steady pace, it provided the foundation from which SMC expanded its interests from food, beverage
and packaging, to power, oil, airline and infrastructure. Today, SMC is the country's biggest diversified
conglomerate.
All SMB's beer operations were then under the San Miguel Beer Division, a business unit of SMC. SMB
was incorporated on July 26, 2007, and the domestic beer business spun off from SMC to SMB on October
1, 2007. The spin-off of SMC's domestic beer business into SMB was intended to realize the value of SMC's
flagship business. In 2010, the acquisition of San Miguel Brewing International Limited (SMBIL) enabled
SMB to achieve full integration of its domestic and international beer business. SMB is now at a greater
advantage to champion the iconic San Miguel brand across the Asia-Pacific region.
From a single product produced in a single brewery in 1890, SMB has developed an array of popular beer
products over the past century, catering to the distinct tastes and preferences of beer drinkers across all
segments and markets in the Philippines. Today, it carries a portfolio of eleven strong and popular beer
brands: Red Horse Beer, San Mig Light, San Miguel Flavored Beer, San Mig Zero, Gold Eagle Beer, San
Miguel Super Dry, San Miguel Premium All-Malt Beer, Cerveza Negra, Kirin Ichiban, the country's first non
alcohol beer San Mig Free, and its flagship brand, San Miguel Pale Pilsen. These products carry distinct
attributes that cater to all segments of the Philippine beer market and have earned international recognition
for quality, winning in the prestigious Monde International Selection almost on an annual basis, among
other awards and citations.
The Company has seven production facilities strategically located across the Philippines to ensure product
availability and freshness, and a highly developed distribution system serving approximately 471,000 retail
outlets.
San Miguel Beer products have consistently dominated the market for beer in the Philippines, the country's
largest alcoholic beverage segment. Despite its dominant market position, SMB continues to find new ways
to grow further its volumes and its market share in the Philippine beverage industry.
In 2014, as part of SMB's growth strategy, the Company embarked on another beverage segment which
has seen promise in the last five years. As an initial endeavor, the Company acquired the non-alcoholic
beverage assets of Ginebra San Miguel Inc. in April 2015 after SMB amended its primary purpose in its
articles of incorporation, to include the non-alcoholic beverage business. The Company's entry into this
new business category is aimed at strengthening SMB's growth performance and competitiveness. This
latest venture is also expected to help the Company in expanding its reach in the Philippine market and tap
new brands and planned product offerings.
As in the case of its world-class beers, SMB's non-alcoholic products will continue to carry the San Miguel
trademark of quality and excellence.