A South African beer brand that gave products sexist and racist names has apologised after coming under fire from critics, and promised to pull all offending labels from the market.
The Vale Brand, based in Edenvale northeast of Johannesburg, sparked fury with product names like “Filthy Brunette” and “Easy Blonde”.
It also faced criticism on social media over its “Raven Porra” line, a slur for people of Portuguese descent.
“As fathers, brothers and husbands, casting aspersions on gender was never and will never be who we are at Vale,” wrote the Vale Brand company in an apology posted on Facebook late Thursday.
“We also understand that our first attempt at an apology was misdirected,” the company added after initially refusing to change the product names.
Thandi Guilherme, the founder of the country’s popular Craft Geek beer blog, had accused Vale of going “full sexist in their ‘new line’ of beers”.
“Bad publicity isn’t always good publicity. Sexy is not always sexist. Know the difference. If you need half naked women (or the insinuation of sex) to sell, your product needs work,” wrote Guilherme on her blog, giving “marketing 101” tips to Vale.
Vale does not brew is own beer but lends its brand to products made by a partner brewery.
“It’s like a bunch of 14-year-old boys were tasked with designing a range of beer labels,” wrote founder of the Brewmistress craft ale site Lucy Corne.
“Clearly the whole #MeToo movement has passed these guys by.”
Market analysts Grand View Research estimates the global craft ale market could be worth $500 billion (425 billion euros) by 2025 — six times more than in 2015.
