This company profile of Heineken reveals the unethical practices of the world’s second largest beer producer. It provides examples of harmful methods across the categories of political interference, promotion, sabotage, manipulation, and deception – the Dubious 5 strategies.
INTRODUCTION
Heineken N.V. is the world’s second-largest beer producer. It is a Dutch multinational alcohol company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Dolf van den Brink is the CEO of Heineken since July 2020.
- The Heineken brand portfolio consists of over 170 beer brands such as Heineken, Amstel, Cruzcampo, Affligem, Zywiec, Starobrno, Tiger, Red Stripe and Birra Moretti.
In November 2021, Heineken NV took over Distell Group Holdings Ltd, a South African wine and Spirits company for €2.2 billion, creating a new regional group to compete with larger rivals AB InBev and liquor giant Diageo Plc.
FAST FACTS ABOUT HEINEKEN IN 2023
Total revenue: €36.4 billion
Operating profit: €4.44 billion (BEIA*, 2022)
Marketing spending: €2.73 billion
Lobbying spending (EU): €200,000 – 299,999 (2022, EU only)
Total volume beer sold: 242.6 million hl
Global beer market share (volume): 13.6%
Number of employees: 89,732
Worldwide operations: 72
*BEIA, Before Exceptional Items and Amortization
Lists of the richest individuals in the beverage sector show that ownership is distributed among a few wealthy families and corporate empires. Among the wealthiest in the alcohol beverages world are Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and her husband Michel de Carvalho, with a combined fortune of the equivalent of €180 billion. They control about 23% of the Heineken Group, the world’s second largest brewing group. The Drinks Business reports.
Brands (International)
- Amstel
- Heineken
- Sol
- Tiger
- Birra Moretti
- Edelweiss
- Desperados
HEINEKEN INVOLVEMENT IN FRONT GROUPS
Heineken pays a host of front groups to conduct lobbying on the behalf of the Dutch beer giant.
- International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD),
- The Portman Group,
- World Brewing Alliance,
- The Brewers of Europe,
- The International Brands Association,
- The World Federation of Advertisers,
- European Round Table of Industrialists,
- Re-Source Europe,
- World Economic Forum, and
- Consumer Goods Forum
Unethical practices by Heineken
Promotion Inside AB InBev’s World Cup Machine: How the World’s Largest Brewer Exploits Football to Maximise Alcohol Sales
The alcohol industry is turning the 2026 FIFA World Cup into the largest marketing offensive in the history of sports, and AB InBev is ...
Deception Bought and Brewed: How the Beer Industry Wants You to Think Beer Is Healthy
Vitamin B6 is in almost everything people eat, and deficiency is rare. A German study, funded by Heineken and AB InBev through a German ...
Manipulation, Political interference Brazil’s Selective Tax Delayed After Beer Industry-Aligned Polling Reaches President Lula’s Advisers
An internal survey by Instituto Locomotiva – with question framing that mirrors the beer industry’s lobbying messaging – has ...
Deception, Political interference Brazilian Beer Industry Lies About Beer Tax While Its Lowest in the Americas
As Brazil discusses alcohol taxes, WHO data shows that the excise tax share on Brazilian beer at 2.28% is the lowest in the Americas ...
Sabotage Heineken’s Ghost Operation – How the World’s Second-Largest Brewer Hid a Seven-Year Investment in Iran
Heineken secretly operated in Iran for seven years – and never disclosed the investment in a press release or annual report. The ...
Deception, Promotion Brazil’s Beer Industry Is Losing Young Consumers – and Spending Billions to Win Them Back
Beer consumption in Brazil fell 5% in 2025 – the largest reduction in over a decade – and the industry’s own trade body says ...