The main immediate impact of the crisis in Brazil was the migration of the beverage mix, from distilled spirits to other options. But the Brazilian Association of Event Producers (Abrape) says it has other concerns related to the role of State representatives in the sector from now on.
“I am concerned about the abrupt advancement of the role of the State in the activities of organizations.
This is what starts to generate greater insecurity. There is, for example, a statement from a public agent saying ‘don’t drink’”, said the president of the Brazilian Association of Event Promoters (Abrape), Doreni Caramori, to InfoMoney.
Last week, some authorities and experts advised the population to avoid consuming alcoholic beverages due to the risk of contamination. The Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, went so far as to say that “as a minister and as a doctor, the recommendation is to avoid ingesting distilled products, especially colorless ones, if you are not absolutely sure of the origin”.
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Although Caramori believes that this is an emergency recommendation, he compares the situation with that experienced by the sector during the pandemic: “It does seem [emergencial]but, during the pandemic, it also looked like it would only close for 15 days. Our sector was closed for two years.”
Unofficial estimates point to a migration of between 15% and 20% of consumption from distilled drinks to others in the last week. According to Caramori, it is difficult to attribute any change in the movement of events in recent days to cases of poisoning. “Our concern today is with side effects rather than direct effects, because we understand that consumers, over time, will learn to separate the wheat from the chaff and will return to consuming naturally.”
Flávio Santos, partner at Agência Criativa, organizer of festivals in the state of São Paulo, assesses that the main impact, initially, should not be the absence of an audience at the events, but an increase in supervision. For him, improvements of this type can be positive to guarantee quality standards in the sector.
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In one year, events aimed especially at university audiences promoted by Agência Criativa consume around half a ton of spirits. Initially, the assessment is that the consumption of this type of drink should fall.
“In general, the younger public consumes a lot of distilled spirits. Today we can say that the average consumption is almost the same as that of beer, practically tied”, explains Santos. As companies operate with consigned margins for beverage orders, and can return 30% to 50% of unconsumed orders, production logistics should not be so impacted.
Sector representatives said that in the last week the main distilled beverage manufacturers stayed away from public demonstrations, which made communication with the public at events difficult.
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“As a result of greater consumer concern, there is greater concern from companies, which take some actions”, says Caramori. “Now we are starting to connect with the industry so that the industry can certify its distributors. This way, the event of informing the distributor can complete the entire cycle of credibility.”
