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Tinkoff is a Russian beer brand created by Oleg Tinkov for his own chain of beer restaurants. Initially, beer was produced at mini-breweries, in 2003 a brewery was built in the Leningrad region. In 2005, Tinkov sold his business, along with the rights to trademarks, to the SUN InBev holding, the Russian division of AB InBev Corporation. In 2009, SUN InBev froze the project, redeploying forces to maintain its own key brands. Four years later, the company relaunched the brand in a new format called “Tinkoff Author’s”.
Historical reference. Oleg Tinkov opened the first restaurant-brewery in 1998, having purchased Wachsmann equipment in Munich. The restaurant, named after the owner, which was new for Russia, was popular. Subsequently, the network has grown to 10 establishments located in million-plus cities. The high demand for Tinkoff beer prompted the businessman to build a brewery in the Leningrad Region. The million dollars invested in the construction paid off in exactly one year. With the increase in the company’s capacity, the assortment portfolio was replenished with new varieties: “T” beer designed for the youth audience, “Tequiza” beer drink with tequila and lime.
At the peak of business growth, the plant and the rights to the Tinkoff brand were sold to Sun InBev for an amount that, according to various sources, varies from $201 to $260 million. At the same time, Sun Interbrew originally intended to buy the plant for $300 million, but was forced to pay about a billion dollars for maintaining control over Russian assets and failed to fulfill the agreement. At the end of 2008 SUN InBev stopped the work of the brewery in Pushkin due to unfavorable economic forecasts. At that time, the market share of Tinkoff, the main premium brand for the plant, decreased from 0,9 to 0,1%. In the official release of the company, it was reported that the production of Tinkoff, T and Tekiz beer brands would be transferred to other capacities, but the addresses of specific sites were not named. In 2009, a decision was made to close the plant and withdraw beer brands from production.
In 2013, Sun InBev announced the relaunch of the brand under the name Tinkoff Avtorskoe. The resurrected brand is positioned in the luxury price category, with only two beers in the line so far. The famous German brewmaster Markus Stefan was invited to work on the original recipes. At the presentation, Oleg Tinkov clarified that he did not make new investments in the brand, but if the project is successful, he is ready to consider the possibility of investing. At the initial stage, his participation consists in consultations on promotion and marketing activities.
Awards
International Exhibition “Beer Industry”:
- 1999 – Big Silver Cross (“Tinkoff Platinum”);
- 2000 – Golden Order (“Tinkoff Krasnoe”) and diploma of the XNUMXst degree.
International Specialized Exhibition “St. Petersburg Beer Auction”:
- 1999 – 2 gold (Tinkoff Platinum, Tinkoff Gold), 2 silver (Tinkoff Light, Tinkoff White) and bronze (Tinkoff Dark Wheat) medals;
- 2000 – Silver (“Tinkoff Platinum”);
- 2001 – Gold (“Tinkoff Platinum”) and silver (“Tinkoff Bock”) medals.
International exhibition-fair “Beer”:
- 2001 – Silver (“Tinkoff Bock”) medal.
International professional competition of beer and soft drinks, Moscow:
- 2000 – Bronze (“Tinkoff Dark”) medal.
Big Moscow International Beer Festival:
- 2001 – Silver Osiris (“Tinkoff Light”) in the category “Best Light”
Beer-Mania Beer Festival, Samara:
- 2004 – Award “Beer of the Year” (“Tinkoff Platinum”).
Brand of the Year – EFFIE, Moscow:
- 2003 – “Golden Brand of the Year” in the “Beer” category.
Superbrands International, Russia:
- 2004 – Superbrand Certificate.
International Exhibition “Pivovar”, Moscow:
- 2010 – Silver (“Tinkoff Platinum”) medal.
Interesting Facts
In order to promote the Tinkoff brand, a story was made up about the distant ancestor of the brand’s founder, the Siberian brewer Porfiry Tinkov, who allegedly supplied beer to the imperial court from the middle of the 2003th century. According to an invented legend, Tinkov found a mention of him in the dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron. A fake page from the dictionary was submitted to the toponymic commission of the “northern capital” with a request to perpetuate the name of the Tinkovs in the street name. Officials did not notice the forgery and agreed to the company’s proposal: in XNUMX, Tinkov Lane appeared in the city of Pushkin.
To develop a business plan to capture the Russian beer market, Tinkov took his management team to Hawaii, where he rented the villa of the ex-husband of actress Sharon Stone. In the process of many hours of brainstorming, employees invigorated themselves with a kind of “doping” – three sips of vodka and a glass of champagne. It took one week to draw up a detailed plan of action. A year later, the construction of the brewery was completed.
In his autobiographical book, Tinkov, not without pride, writes that in 2002 the markup on his beer reached 300%. At a full cost of 29 cents, the selling price per bottle was $1,2. The businessman justifies these figures by the fact that he did not save on the purchase of high-quality malt and hops, the purchase of modern equipment, and the remuneration of employees.
A yacht and a helicopter were rented in Portugal to film the hit TV commercial “He’s the One”, but the overall production costs were not comparable to the marketing costs of the competing brand, Baltika.
Types of beer Tinkoff
“Tinkoff Author’s Bavarian Light”, 5,2%
A typical Munich Helles is made using Pilsner malt from two-row barley, red semi-early hops from the world’s largest field of Hallertau and a strain of Spaten yeast. The buyer can read this information on the label, decorated with a portrait of the founder of the brand. After the restart, Tinkoff occupies the niche of craft beer – it is brewed in limited batches, each bottle is provided with a serial number. The drink has a golden color characteristic of the style, the foam is medium-grained, with a dense texture. In the bouquet, tones of grassy hops, hay and pollen come to the fore. The taste is also canonical – with pronounced maltiness, grain and grain notes, and a slight bitterness.
Tinkoff Author’s English Ale, 4,7%
Beer is produced in a limited edition, not exceeding 20 bottles per brew. On the label, in addition to data on density and strength, the ingredients included in the composition are indicated. The base malt is Pale Ale, dark and caramel malts are also used, beer is hopped with Styrian Golding and Fuggles varieties. The color is dark amber with copper reflections, the foam cap is low, but persistent. The aroma characteristic of the bitter: herbaceous-floral, with pronounced notes of honey, pollen, crust of freshly baked bread. The taste is dominated by caramel and iris tones with a hint of grapefruit and hoppy bitterness, making the aftertaste light and refreshing.
