This issue is particularly pronounced among shopkeepers, who are crucial to Poker, an AB InBev beer brand in Colombia. For these individuals, saving for retirement often takes a backseat to immediate daily expenses, such as food for their families and rent for their businesses.

Background: Pension systems globally, and particularly in Latin America, are under significant strain. ASOFONDOS reports that 75% of Colombians are unlikely to retire comfortably.

Neighborhood shopkeepers, as representatives of informal workers, face this harsh reality, often prioritizing daily necessities over retirement savings due to limited resources.

In Colombia, neighborhood stores dominate beer sales, creating intense competition.

Poker faces the dual challenge of expanding its market share while strengthening relationships with these essential partners. The key question: how can Poker deepen its ties with shopkeepers while positively impacting their futures?

Objectives: Our goals included strengthening shopkeeper loyalty and engagement with Poker, ensuring they feel valued beyond mere transactions.

We aimed to position Poker not just as a beer brand but as a proactive contributor to the socioeconomic health of the community.

Additionally, we sought to significantly increase adoption among shopkeepers of BEES, AB InBev's global B2B platform, which allows retailers to purchase beer and earn redeemable rewards points, ultimately enhancing Poker’s market share and brand preference through meaningful differentiation and social impact.

Creative Idea: Poker, the second-best-selling beer by AB InBev in Colombia, partnered with the Colombian government and the Colombian Pension Fund (Colpensiones) to launch the Beer Retirement Account.

This innovative pension scheme is designed to transform the future prospects of Colombian shopkeepers, who are vital to the company's sales network.

The initiative leverages BEES, where an astonishing 70% of reward points went unused and expired. In response, Poker empowered shopkeepers by enabling them to convert their points into funds for their retirement accounts.

This transformative update has paved the way for a more dignified retirement, with over 9,250 retailers currently saving, and projections indicating that this number will exceed 30,000 by the start of 2025.

Strategy: Our strategy focused on helping small store owners secure their retirement by doing what they do best: selling beer.

The Beer Retirement Account aims to boost AB InBev’s sales while increasing the number of retired store owners in a country where only 25% of the population receives a pension, according to the Financial Development Authority (Findeter).

This initiative is facilitated through BEES, a platform familiar to shop owners aged 40 to 60 from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

By positioning itself as a company that invests in the future of its most important partners, AB InBev enhances its reputation and transforms these stores into sustainable, thriving businesses.

Execution: To implement the Beer Retirement Account, we identified top-performing shopkeepers on the BEES platform and introduced them to the initiative, encouraging sign-ups.

We developed training sessions and tutorials to guide them on converting their BEES points into retirement savings.

The initiative was promoted through push notifications in the BEES app, in-store materials, and posts on Poker's social media channels.

In Q3 of 2023, we briefed selected shopkeepers about the initiative, and the Beer Retirement Account officially launched on December 1st.

Results in just 4 months: Poker's orders have increased by +12.5% among shopkeepers, +16% in major cities 271.4 million BEES points redeemed for pensions Net savings: 480,000 USD Colombian government boosted these savings an additional 20% +21% BEES adoption among shopkeepers

Goal: by the end of 2024, exceed 30,000 participating shopkeepers, with an end of 2025 target of 75,000—supporting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for inclusive economic growth and decent work.

COLPENSIONES and the Colombian government have endorsed the Beer Retirement Account as a pivotal initiative set to transform the pension landscape, potentially aiding over 500,000 shopkeepers in the long term.

This initiative demonstrates to the world that the business of selling beer and the well-being of shopkeepers can grow together, positioning Poker and AB InBev as pioneers in business transformation once again.