Motor racing-Italy's Peroni teams up with Ferrari in new partnership

Asahi group

30/01/2024 11:35

By Giulia Segreti
       ROME, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Italian premium beer brand
Peroni Nastro Azzurro has entered a multi-year partnership with
Ferrari's  RACE.MI  Formula One team, the latest move in the
shifting sponsorship alliances in elite motor racing.
        The five-year agreement with Peroni's 0.0% non-alcoholic
version of the beer -- for which financial details were not
disclosed -- starts this year and includes branding on Ferrari
cars and driver uniforms.
    "Formula 1 was a territory that we have already covered,
that we knew, and with this partnership we return to Italy,
teaming with an Italian brand," Birra Peroni Marketing Director
Viviana Manera told Reuters at the launch of the deal in Rome. 
    Peroni, part of Japanese brewer Asahi Group Holdings
 2502.T ,  was previously with racing team Aston Martin for
three seasons. 
        The deal is a key part of Asahi's strategy to increase
consumer demand for its alcohol-free beverages, with the aim of
making these products 20% of its portfolio.  
    As part of the partnership, Peroni will run a 2,024 bottle
limited-edition product called Tifosi, or supporters in Italian.
    The alliance with Ferrari was partially revealed last year
when the team said it had signed a deal starting in 2024 with
Asahi Europe without, however, specifying which particular brand
would be involved.
    Spanish beer brand Estrella Galicia left Ferrari earlier
this month after being a partner of the Italian team, and its
driver Carlos Sainz, for many years, to rejoin former partner
McLaren Racing. 
    Saudi Arabian energy giant Aramco in December signed a new
five-year agreement to become exclusive title sponsor of the
Aston Martin team. 
     The 2024 F1 season starts in Bahrain on March 2.

 (Reporting by Giulia Segreti
Editing by Keith Weir)
 ((Giulia.Segreti@tr.com; +39.06.80307714;))