Illustration of draft beer being served in a bar.

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  • The V and B brand will destock more than 400,000 liters of beer, stored in its barrels due to the closure of bars.

  • The bar activity represents more than half of the turnover of the brand based in Mayenne but which has 230 stores in France.

  • The franchisees had to invest in machines capable of bottling draft beer.

They are in such uncertainty that they have decided not to take the risk.

Not knowing when they will be able to reopen their bar, the managers of the national brand V and B have decided to launch a destocking operation for their beers whose optimal use-by date (DLUO) is coming to an end.

In much of France, their franchisees will try to sell the 400,000 liters of hops that the coronavirus epidemic prevents them from distributing normally.

An "anti-waste" operation but also "save who can" for the 230 stores of the brand, whose bar activity has been stopped since the end of October.

“Everyone finds their account.

Customers can buy quality draft beer for less, and we are emptying our stocks.

There is a united side ”.

François Reillon is the innovation manager of V and B. Based in Château-Gontier, his group saw all of its bar activities stop in the fall, without knowing when they could reopen.

If the wine and beer cellars keep turning, the ordered beer kegs remain hopelessly full.

To the point of dangerously approaching their expiration date.

“We did the math.

We have a little more than 200,000 liters in the entire network and at least as much in the central purchasing office.

We have more than 400,000 liters to save ”.

In Rennes, the three bars of V and B will offer draft beer in bottles to sell off stocks.

- V and B Rennes

To remedy this, the parent company invited its 230 franchisees to acquire bottling equipment or cans, in order to sell off stocks before the establishments reopen.

In Rennes, where the brand has been established for eighteen years, the three bars still have 6,000 liters on their hands.

“There are local craft beers, Belgians and Germans,” explains Angélique Clolus, the communications manager.

Thanks to a bottling machine, the three sites have been offering take-away beer for a few days.

Sold between 3 and 5 euros for 75 cl, it is offered with a deposit of 2 euros.

“We have been depositing products from Belgium and Germany for twenty years.

We did not want to recreate waste, ”explains François Reillon.

In Rennes, amateurs will have the choice between two references which will be offered until stocks run out.

Some examples ?

Of the Corsendonk, of the Delirium for Belgium, of the Debauchery, of the Sainte-Colombe or of the Old Monkey for the French and Breton women.

For the stores, this will be an opportunity to bring in a little cash.

“The bar represents 60% of our activity.

We may do a little more take-out, we have lost a large part ”, explains Angélique Clolus.

With this operation, she hopes to "minimize the loss".

It is also an opportunity to sell the stocks of certain local producers used to working with bars and who see their barrels accumulating in the reserves.

“We can't wait for the reopening.

We know that we will have limited gauges and constraints.

But it will always be better than nothing, ”concludes the innovation manager.

The operation "beer in bulk" takes place in many V and B in France.

To find the participating brands, go to their Facebook page.

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