- Mike Beirne

New products gave Anheuser-Bush a lift, as the brewer today reported that second quarter net beer sales in the U.S. have increased 4.5%.

The Bud Light family—including Bud Light Lime and Bud Light Chelada—grew 5%. Budweiser's sales for the quarter decreased 4% and Michelob, which had been repositioned as a craft-style brew, declined 5%. A-B's revenue overall rose 6% and pushed net income up 1.8% to $677 million.

It appears the trial period for Bud Light Lime (which debuted in May) is over, since distributors are reporting momentum with reorders from retailers like Wal-Mart, bringing in 12-packs and cases of the new brew after initially stocking just six-packs. Bigger packs are a sign for wholesalers that consumers have tried the product and are coming back for more.

Whether the gains are seasonal remains to be seen, but Bud Light Lime, which costs more than Bud Light, grabbed 1.5% of beer sales in supermarkets for the period that includes the quarter plus the first week of July, per Information Resources, Chicago.

A-B is getting better in picking niche products with growth potential. Higher priced products, such as Budweiser Chelada, Bud Light Chelada and Land Shark Lager, have contributed to sales gains for bargain beers, as some consumers traded down to sub-premium priced brands like Natural Light and Busch. Even fruit flavored brews helped retail sales for the brand grow 3%.

The launch of Bud Light Lime, Bud Light Chelada and the new Michelob flavors occurred under the auspices of Marlene Coulis, vp-consumer strategy and innovation. She is charged with matching insights about why consumers drink with new positioning for existing brews or developing concepts for new beverages. Although reports have said that other top marketing execs have accepted bonuses to stay with the company, which is being acquired by InBev, A-B has declined to address Coulis' status.

"Anheuser-Busch and InBev will be identifying a broad group of individuals in leadership positions across the organization in operations, finance, marketing, sales and other departments who are critical to maintaining business continuity," Tim Farrell, A-B's vp-human resources, said in a statement. "Offering such bonus incentives for them to stay during this period is a standard practice for companies in these circumstances. [Reports] that certain individuals have accepted bonuses to stay [are] incorrect. Information related to retention of any Anheuser-Busch employee will be disclosed in appropriate financial filings in the coming weeks."

During a conference call with analysts Monday, CFO Randy Baker mentioned that A-B has selected a team to lead the integration with InBev and that the Belgian brewer is on board with the U.S. company's "Blue Ocean" initiative, which seeks to reduce costs by as much as $400 million through 2010.

In the meantime, A-B, St. Louis, is going ahead with plans to advertise heavily during the Olympics and with the national launch of Budweiser American Ale in September. Baker also said rising expenses for agricultural commodities, energy and packaging are prompting A-B to accelerate price hikes by 3-5% throughout September and October rather than the first quarter of 2009, as previously planned.