Julian Momen became chief executive of Carlsberg UK this year at a time of great transformation for the company and for the global drinks industry. He talks to Mark Wingett about how he is communicating those changes to his workforce and balancing investment in the craft market
Next year will be a transitional year for Carlsberg UK, according to chief executive Julian Momen, who joined the brewer in 2012 as chief financial officer, before moving up to the top role in February earlier this year.
“We have made some big changes in the brewery; we’ve announced what we are going to do with logistics; we have introduced House of Beer, a very select group of people, who are London-based and focused on the high-end segment; we have brought in Brooklyn Brewery,” Momen points outs in a whistle-stop rundown of some of the key changes that the company has had to absorb over the past 12 months.
One of Momen’s key challenges is to make sure his own workforce is on board with all those changes. He says: “The one thing we haven’t done yet is paint the picture of success for our people. So they have that sense of what we are trying to do over the next two to three years, but it is actually just painting what we are going to look like in five years’ time. That is the bit we are about to start working on.
“I think that starts with our people. I had the privilege of working in the start-up Häagen-Dazs business and the one thing they had, that we don’t have yet, was emotional unity and togetherness. We have a togetherness and a good spirit in the business, but it hasn’t got to that point where everyone knew what that picture of success looked like and were absolutely committed as a team to get to that goal.
“There are great foundations to build on here. There is a great culture here. If you speak to anyone who works in Carlsberg, they will tell you that they love working for Carlsberg, but I want them to say a little bit more than that.”
In-house workshops
For Momen, part of that emotional connection will come from his teams becoming brand advocates and the move from being a sales-led business to a brand-led one.
“I don’t think everyone gets it when I talk about being a brand-led business. One of the things we are going to do at our annual conference is discuss being brand-led; we are not going to talk about sales per se or customers too much. I want to talk about brands and make sure everyone understands the heritage of our brands.
“We are going to ask everyone in Carlsberg to adopt a brand that they feel very supportive of and will sponsor during that year. If that happens, when they are out they will feel more inclined to talk about it.”
The company has been running in-house workshops to discuss new behaviours and the way the business wants to be and seen to be. Momen says: “One of the ideas that came out of these was when we are in a bar and someone we don’t know is ordering a pint of someone else’s beer, we should look to try and convince them that they might want to try one of ours and then buy them a drink.
“So it starts with our people and if they have got that emotional tie to a brand to start with. Then I think they get that tie into the company. Our culture is fantastic. But there are some things we have to get better at, performance management being one. It is also about accountability. I would say that those are the two things I am really trying to ramp up.”
Backing the right brands
Momen is also keen to make sure the company’s investment strategy is more targeted. “We do some very interesting stuff that is very engaging with our consumers and we do other stuff that quite frankly hasn’t worked. We have done some great Carlsberg ads but then you ask the consumers what they think, and they say fantastic ads, but I am not going to buy Carlsberg. We have to be smarter and better at how we communicate to a new generation.
“We have to be good at putting our investments behind the right brands at the right time. We don’t have the sort of the funds of the bigger guys. We have to put our investment behind the brands that need that focus, not to dissipate it across everything.
“In the back of my mind I don’t have a number in terms of the size of our portfolio, I just think we need to cleverer in how we use that portfolio for certain outlet types. That is something we are spending a lot of time on. We have created a team in the on-trade that is looking to understand outlet types and what range is needed for each.
“The one thing that we have got to be able to do when we do that segmentation piece is that we make sure that it is quality. One of the things that will help this is our new DraughtMaster system. It is incredible. It talks about innovation, premiumisation and differentiation in a big way. It also talks about simplicity for the bar, restaurant and pub owner.”
Craft market entrant
The company is quite rightly bullish about the fact it will, from January next year, be the distributor for Brooklyn Brewery in the UK, and Momen admits the company is looking at other opportunities to enhance its credentials in the craft sector, including in the UK craft segment.
He says: “It could be an acquisitive play or more partnerships. We haven’t got any credentials in UK craft. It is a very cliquey environment, so you have to work out the paths of success in there. It is very easy to go diving in and not get it quite right.” He points to the continued success of Crown Cellars, the company’s specialist wine and spirits division, as an example of how he envisages a possible tie up in the UK craft market developing.
He says: “Crown Cellars has its own identity. The way the business is run is independent of the main Carlsberg business, but it gets all the benefit from being in Carlsberg. So if we can think about UK craft, whether through partnership or acquisition, trying to retain its properties as a craft beer house or distributor but get all the benefits of the support through Carlsberg, the example of Crown Cellars is the way to do it. That will be the same we hope with House of Beer.”
The mainstream lager market remains “quite difficult”, but Momen says the company has “some amazing stuff coming up to announce around Carlsberg”. He says: “It does talk a lot about identity. The consumers do like the brew. Talk to our production guys, they are so passionate about Carlsberg Export and they say it is the best brew we make and yet we don’t sell too much of it, because Carlsberg and Carlsberg Export are seen as one. So we will be talking about some more detail around that.”
By the end of next year, Momen believes the company will have “tackled some of its internal stuff”. He adds: “We will also certainly have our portfolio in place, sorted and clear on its segmentations and the brands we will have going forward. We will also be adding some brands and improving the identity of the ones we already have.”
He admits his teams will want more proof that the company is heading in the right direction. You get the sense he is building up enough momentum to ensure the company can live up to expectations.
