The Heineken Story: The remarkably refreshing tale of the beer that conquered the world

by Barbara Smit

Heineken is known all around the world, but few of the drinkers who eagerly watch the foam rise in their glass have heard of the business ploys, marketing tricks and extraordinary characters that transformed the Dutch family business into a global brand.Taking us on a journey from a small brewery in Amsterdam in 1864 to the present day, The Heineken Story tells the remarkable and sometimes controversial true story of one of the world's largest brewing companies, and of Alfred 'Freddy' Heineken, the singular business man who secured its position. From spectacular takeovers and inspired marketing campaigns, to a kidnapping that brought in the largest ransom ever paid for an individual, this is a gripping account of the battle for the international beer market.Barbara Smit has experience writing on family drama, marketing and consumer culture, and in The Heineken Story she has put together a narrative that is meticulously researched, and fizzing with competition, personalities and betrayal.

Genres: History, Business, Nonfiction

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2014

About the author

Barbara Smit has written for the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Economist, and Time, among other publications. She received her master's degree in international journalism from City University in London. She lives in France.
-HarperCollins

Reviews

[Roberto Fruchtengarten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esperava um livro que falasse mais de cerveja, mas esse é um livro de negócios. O foco sao as aquisicoes, planos de distribuicao,mkt e estrategias para conquista de mercados. O livro fala também sobre a importancia de freddy heineken na consolidacao da marca. Enfim, um livro com muitos dados sobre volume de vendas e fatias de mercado, tornando a leitura pouco agradável.

[Jun Wen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took five days to read this book in between a busy week in college, which in my opinion is a testament to Smit's fluid writing.

For a subject matter so wide-ranging and technical in so many aspects, The Heineken Story has done an excellent job in making the story comprehensible to the laymen.

While I picked this book up in the "Marketing" section of a bookstore, I'm not entirely sure it belongs there. Marketing does take up a good portion of the book, which to me simply reflects the crucial role it played in Heineken's success. Much of the book is dedicated to following the rise and occasional fall in Heineken's journey, and I personally felt it read much like a "History of things" book (Bourbon: A History of the American Spirit: Dane Huckelbridge, Tea: The Drink that Changed the World: Laura C. Martin ).

I often pique that ignorant consumerism is the prime evil of this generation. Beer, the subject matter of The Heineken Story most certainly pertains to the culture of consumerism that pervades society today. Reading this book has made me less ignorant of a consumer product that is often taken for granted, and for that I would definitely recommend it to anybody who asks.

[Harri T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hästi kirjutatud lugu kõigile tuntud õllemargist, selle tekkeloost ja maailma vallutamisest. Mainimist leiavad ka paljud teised tuntud margid üle maailma ning turgude hõivamine suurte tegijate poolt.

[Otto Henrique · Rating 4 out of 5]

um livro fez mais pelo meu alcoolismo que 20 mães chorosas. maldito mundo capitalista que pasteuriza sabores e culturas em troca do lucro.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué interesante. Gran trabajo periodístico de cientos de entrevistas que al final crean una historia muy fácil de leer e ilustrativa. También es fascinante la historia de la marca y casi es necesario hacer un diagrama para entender todas las adquisiciones y movimientos que hicieron posible al gran monstruo que hoy es Heineken.

[Mariliis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kohutavalt igav. Kui võtta seda korporatsiooni biograafiana, siis võib see kellelegi isegi meeldida. Enamus raamatust keerles ümber müügimahtude, mitmelt hektoliitrilt mitmele need muutusid, mis ettevõtted osteti mis hinnaga, mitu % millisest firmast omati, kui palju see ostuhind siis aktsia kohta oli, kes kui palju keda üle pakkus ning kui mitu korda. Mul on hea meel, et see läbi sai.

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting at the beginning, end is quite boring. Feels a bit of a like a ode to Heineken.

[Hải · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sách tàm tạm. Đọc vì tò mò về lịch sửa beer bọt, không quá trông chờ nhiều.

[jose romero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long and boring

[Diego Castilho · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro é muito bom, conta a história pessoal da Heineken até um ponto do livro e então foca muito mais na história de negócio da cerveja mundial como um todo.
Vale a leitura para quem quer saber mais sobre este mundo.