During the communist era, Borsodi was a working man's beer brewed in Hungary's industrial east. Interbrew has since re-cast the brand with a young and lively image. And as SAB did with Dreher, Interbrew also invested in modern brewing equipment, which resulted in more consistent quality and a longer shelf life. Mr Christodoulides says that in addition to sprucing up packaging and improving product quality, Western manufacturers are broadening the variants of old domestic brands. Of course, the renewed vigour shown by old brands isn't only due to Western marketing techniques and capital.
Hungarian consumers are, by all accounts, fickle when it comes to brand loyalty.
A larger factor favouring domestic brands is price. Western firms that bought local brands also acquired local manufacturing facilities, which has helped to keep costs down compared to imports. One more factor can come into play. Advertising executives often dismiss it, but there is nevertheless evidence that nostalgia has helped to revive domestic brands. The company has just brought a second factory online, boosting annual production up to 250,000 hectolitres.