Wanghaamer

'Wanghäämer A.G., established 1869, is a family owned brewing and olive oil producing conglomerate headquartered jointly in Germany and Italy.

Wanghäämer was founded in 1869 at the dawn of the German Empire in the Kingdom of Bavaria by Friedrich Von Wanghäämer when he set up a small brewing company in an old mill house that he had inherited from his maiden aunt Hedwig. Although just a cottage industry struggling amid the political turbulence that surrounded the Firm's early years, the Von Wanghäämers, led by Friedrich and his eldest son Helmut, always strove to brew beer of the highest quality. They constantly sought out the finest hops of the Hallertau Valley; barley from best growing areas of Germany and France; the purest spring water that fed the river running by the old mill; and a unique local brewers yeast strain that combined to produce a beer that is one of the best kept secrets of Southern Germany.

In 1969, during the Firm’s centenary year, Christian-Helmut IV, the head of the Wanghäämer family, decided to join the fortunes of Wanghäämer and Aquila Olive Oil Company, the Italian olive oil producer, following the marriage of his youngest son Otto to Isabella Maria Dell’Aquila, the heir to Aquila. He arranged for Wanghäämer A.G. to buy a controlling stake in Aquila to create the first and only German-Italian brewing and olive oil conglomerate - a position it still enjoys today.

Memorabilia and sponsorship

As with many beer makers, Wanghaamer has a stong tradition of promoting its brand through high profile sponsorship deals (see Carlsberg, Tiger Beer, Budweiser) allowing them to promote their brand through the media and via branded clothing. An example of this is the popular 'Wangcap', a simple red cap with Wangaamer logo emblazened across the centre front of the American style baseball cap (see picture)

Recent Sponsopship Slovenia 2008: To improve brand awareness in Eastern Europe for both its beer and olive oil, Wanghaamer embarked on an ambitious sponsoship deal with an extreme sports team from London UK. Formed of 9 renonwed athletes from the UK circuit Wanghaamer aimed to promote itself as the brand of choice for athletes and a healthier alternative to Slovenia's super strength lager. Sponsorship involved branded team polos, caps and the sponsorship of equipment, such as the 'Purple Turtle', a renonwed competition Hydrospeed used on the Soca river to devasting effect by one of the top Hydrospeed pilots in Europe.

2009 sees Wanghaamer move the marketing juggernaut to SE Asia, to take on the might of Kingfisher breweries and gain market share in the Thai / Laos region of SE Asia