Bigger glasses mean smaller profits for Belgian bars.
They’re not happy at InBev even though it pays for 3 million Jupiler glasses for the trade.
It began shipping the 25cl (8.45-ounce) glasses after changing the design of its Jupiler Bull logo. The new glasses are 10% bigger, and bars say they can’t raise the average 1.50-euro ($1.99) price without losing sales. Which means they are selling more beer for the same price.
And it only gets worse for the bar owners, because the taxman is also involved. Belgian authorities tax most bars based on the number of 25cl glasses they sell from a 50-liter keg. Taxes are based on the old average of 192 servings per keg, while the new glasses yield 175, says Laurent Wysen, a Liege, Belgium-based lawyer at Misson, which represents the Federation Horeca Wallonie.
It means bar owners are taxed for beers they don’t even sell.