Lion, Visy collaborate to tap home drinkers

Beer giant Lion has joined with packaging giant Visy to capitalise on a rising trend of socialising in the home with the launch of a new beer unit to dispense fresh draught beer.
 
Dubbed Tap King, the dispenser works with 3.2L recyclable bottles that can fit in most fridges. Each bottle can be used for up to 21 days after opening, and the dispenser can be removed and washed as needed.

Mini kegs have been available in in the beer space for a while from companies like Heineken and Lowenbrau, and in the ready-to-serve alcoholic beverage category, Beam Global and Rebello Wines recently joined the movement with the introducion 5-litre mini kegs.

Tap King was developed over two years in partnership with Visy. Lion described the move as its first major product innovation outside of its current range of beer and wine brands.

According to the company, 69 per cent of drinking occasions take place at home, and the company's target customer is men over the age of 30 who who love draught beer but who socialise at home due to work and family commitments.

“We feel Tap King is a great development for the beer category as a whole. Growing appreciation of beer and the experiences of tasting good beer serves to benefit everyone in the industry from primary producers to industry partners,” Lion's marketing director, Matt Tapper, said.

“Lion is pursuing a direction to refresh the beer category, expose and celebrate the richness of the industry, and lead it in exciting new territories. To achieve this we need to deliver new innovations tailored to both consumers and the industry and Tap King is just the first of these.,” he said.

Six Lion beers will initially accompany the Tap King and the dispenser unit and bottles will be available from later this year at major liquor retailers nationally.