Brewer, Nile Breweries Limited (NBL) has launched a Global Smart Drinking Week (GSDW the brewer will partner with delivery provider Jumia for consumers who order for beer online to also receive food and water, to drive smart drinking.
The GSDW 2021 will run from September 13–17 and aligns with the first week of the United Nations General Assembly.
“NBL and parent company AB InBev have long taken their responsibility to help reduce and prevent the harmful use of alcohol around the world seriously and we put it at the centre of everything we do. We aim to lead the industry in contributing to the reduction of the harmful use of alcohol,” said David Valencia, the Nile Breweries Country Director.
The AB InBev group established its Global Smart Drinking Goals in December 2015 to contribute to the World Health Organisation target of reducing the harmful use of alcohol by at least 10% in every country by 2025 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of strengthening the prevention of harmful use of alcohol globally.
“Smart Drinking has become a part of NBL and AB InBev’s company culture, and we continue to strive to bring that culture to communities. This GSDW, we champion the many specific behaviours and social norms that encompass smart drinking and aim to make every experience with beer a positive one,” said Onapito Ekomoloit, the Legal and Corporate Affairs Director at NBL.
“This commitment extends far beyond saying “drink responsibly”. It spans various initiatives, to support our smart drinking goals,” he added.
According to the beer company, some of the initiatives include guidance labelling on beers, in bars activations (prior Covid19 pandemic), awareness campaigns in traditional media and social media, social-behavioural change campaigns such as no excuse, road safety programs and most recently the interuniversity smart drinking challenge.
“The company spends at least Shs200M annually on smart drinking initiatives. To drive the messages of smart drinking behaviours such as hydrating and eating a meal before or during consumption of our beers, NBL has partnered with Jumia in a promotion to encourage its consumers to take up responsible behaviour. Lucky winners will get free water and food coupons on their NBL brands beer purchases on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week as we crown off the GSDW.”, Onapito noted.
Paul Tesar, the Jumia Uganda Chief Commercial Officer commended the partnership between the two companies that he described as being one of benefit to the consumers.
“Jumia is proud to support NBL’s GSDW initiative. We not only enable consumers to conveniently order beers online but also want to play an active role in promoting responsible consumption,” Tesar said.
“As consumers are increasingly looking to Jumia for supplies of consumables like beer, we leverage our online presence to promote messages around smart drinking. Together with NBL, we are building a convenient and safe destination for consumers to shop for beer.”
As part of the campaign driving awareness of GSDW and its goals, NBL has created “The Beer Oath”, dubbed Smart Drinker’s Toast, a simple poem recited playfully before one takes their first sip of beer. The oath celebrates beer with a promise to drink it responsibly.
The next time you have a beer, consider the simple – and smart – things you can do — like eating while drinking or before drinking, having plenty of water, pacing yourself or planning a ride home — to make your experience with the beer a positive one.
