PH Embassy, San Miguel Brewery Explore Opportunities to Export to Chile

The Philippine Embassy in Santiago and the SMBIL teams pose for a photo following the Chilean beer industry and market access meeting (Santiago PE photo).

SANTIAGO 03 October 2023 – As part of its economic diplomacy programs to support the Philippines’s best-selling brands penetrate the South American market, with Chile as a potential window, the Philippine Embassy in Santiago, led by Ambassador Celeste Vinzon-Balatbat, held a pioneer meeting between the Embassy and San Miguel Brewing International, Ltd. (SMBIL), via online platform on 28 September 2023.

Joining the meeting from San Miguel were Mr. Jorel Tangpuz, Group Sales Manager (GSM); Mr. Mark Sismaet, Sales Assistant to the GSM; and Mr. Karim Mangondaya, Sales Manager, SMBIL Export Development Group; and from the Philippine Embassy, Minister & Consul General Jim Tito B. San Agustin and First Secretary & Consul Dennis John C. Briones.

Ambassador Balatbat highlighted Chile’s potential as a “promising point of entry for San Miguel beer and other best-selling products into the largely untapped South American region.” She added that Chile’s vast web of free trade agreements (FTAs) could also facilitate the entry of San Miguel beer into neighboring Latin American markets in the long-term, aside from satisfying Chile’s fast-growing demand for both local and foreign beers.

Mr. Tangpuz provided a brief backgrounder on the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the history of beer icon, San Miguel Beer (SMB) and its variants, and as a snapshot of SMB’s global reach and worldwide distribution, including in the Americas.  He also candidly discussed SMB’s present challenges which limit them from fully tapping farther regions, particularly South America.

Consul Briones provided a brief overview of Chile’s alcohol and beer culture, its ranking in beer consumption per capita, and a roster of SMB’s potential rivals—or partners/distributors—in the local Chilean brewery and cerveza scene.

Strategizing on the best means to move forward, the Philippines Embassy reiterated its commitment to help San Miguel beer products penetrate the Chilean market by engaging with the country’s largest domestic beer distributors (Cerveceria Chile and CCU), as well as meeting with smaller ones for possible exclusive SMB distribution (Kuntsmann, Concha y Toro, and many more).

Aside from SMB and its variants, the Embassy also conveyed its readiness to assist in promoting other SMC products in Chile and other areas in Latin America. END

For more information, visit https://www.santiagope.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinChile.