Leffe : 800 years of history

Leffe started in 1240 in Belgium. The name « Leffe » is the name of the river close-by the abbey where the beer was produced. For centuries, the production was exclusive to the monks. In 1954, they allowed for an industrial production of the beer. At the beginning, there was only lager, but there are now 9 different beers under the brand. Most of them have received special distinctions for their taste. But the lager still accounts for 80% of the volume sold.

The breweries were bought in 1977 by Stella Artois, which then became part of Interbrew in 1987 and is now under the control of InBev since 2004, which is the 1st brewer worldwide with more than 200 brands (including Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Guinness), but the monks still to this day have control over the recipe of the beer, and the ingredients used are still as natural as 800 years ago (cereals, hop, yeast, etc.).

Leffe is the 4th brand of the group in terms of sales. It is sold mainly in Western Europe, especially in France and Belgium. Leffe was the 4th beer brand sold in supermarkets in France in 2012, with 7.5% market share.

The communication around the brand has been focused for almost 20 years on tradition, quality and authenticity (between 1985 and 2004). Hence the golden packaging which makes the bottle look very attractive, very noble, and even luxurious. The goal was to make it the reference of abbey beers. It succeeded because it is still today the number one beer in the specialty branch. However, this was a rather niche market. That’s why, in recent years, the brand has been focused on reaching a larger market through a new positioning… as a pre-dinner drink. The challenge was to keep its tradition of quality and authenticity and drive it more toward mass consumption. More on that on a following article…