Heineken to Exit Moroccan Market as Local Brewer Ends Distribution Deal

"The SBM announces that its license contract for the production and distribution of the Heineken brand will end in December 2023 by mutual agreement of the two partners," says a statement from the Moroccan company. Sales of Heineken products account for 17% of the company’s sales, the note specifies, assuring that this share will be recovered by the company’s "historic brands" and that the non-renewal of this contract "will have no impact" on the company’s turnover in 2023.

"This is a new chapter opening for the SBM. With this partnership, we have learned from each other. The SBM has massively invested in the training of its teams and has an industrial tool that meets the standards. [...] For more than 100 years, we have been offering our consumers Moroccan beers brewed and bottled in our Casablanca plant," declares Sébastian Yves-Ménager, CEO of the group, quoted in the press release.

In Morocco, a Muslim-majority country, the consumption of alcohol is prohibited. But its sale is authorized in establishments approved by the state. The authorities are waging a fierce battle against the sale and consumption of counterfeit alcohol. In May, a dozen people died in Meknes after consuming counterfeit alcohol in an establishment. The owner of the premises, a 67-year-old man, and his 17-year-old employee were arrested, according to police sources.