On the shop floor the battle of the shelf wars has intensified, as big beverage companies move to entrench their position by squeezing out smaller competitors from prime display space. One of these is multinational brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev, which has upsized its packs across beer and cider brands and increased the height of cans of certain brands, specifically in the South African market. Besides creating the need to buy extra shelf space, the bigger packs suggest there will be less space for competitors' brands. And with the proposed ban on alcohol advertising in mainstream media, store displays will be the next advertising battleground. Ernst Henning, owner of Totpack Distributors, said big liquor companies such as Distell and ABInBev could pay up to R7000 a month for shelf space at independent liquor stores, while the cost of display advertising in a store could be up to R13000 a month. "As a small company, we can't pay that sort of amount when stores buy R2000 of our...
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