In the Beginning
As Anheuser-Busch heads into the 21st Century, our dual legacies of quality and tradition are as important today as they were in 1852, when a small brewery in south St. Louis first began the journey to become the world's largest brewer.
More than 100 years ago, Adolphus Busch created Budweiser, a beer that would become known for its uncompromising quality. Today, as we enter the new millennium, we look back at the generations of Americans who helped make Budweiser, an American tradition, and proudly recognize Hispanic Americans, who among the very first.
The late 1880s was a period of great innovation and excitement for Anheuser-Busch. During this time refrigerated railcars and raiside icehouses were introduced which helped make Anheuser-Busch America's first "national" brewer, shipping cold and refreshing beer to every section of the country.
As the railroads expanded westward into communities with growing Spanish-speaking populations, company beer drummers charged with "drumming up" new business delivered the first Spanish-language sales catalogues to local retailers and businesses in places like Shafer and Laredo, Texas: Nogales, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As the popularity of Budweiser spread around the country, the number of Hispanic distributors partnering with Anheuser-Busch also started to grow.
In the late 1890s, the Escalada Brothers of Nogales, Arizona Territory were among the company's earliest Hispanic business partners and in 1914, Gilberto Vasquez became the first Hispanic distributor in Texas.
Rafael Henriquez, a second generation Budweiser distributor in Key West, Florida was recognized nationally in a 1921 issue of The Bevo Tatler (an Anheuser-Busch company newsletter) as one of the best salesmen in the country.
Over the next few decades, Anheuser-Busch's Hispanic Wholesaler family would continue to grow in places like Florida, California, Texas and the Southwest. In the mid 1930s, Aquilino Lopez started distributing Budweiser in Key West, Florida, and Jose Franquiz & Co. opened up shop in nearby Tampa. Around this time, Solano Beer Agency in Vallejo, California joined forces with Anheuser-Busch and J.L. Peraldo started selling Budweiser in the San Francisco area.
Anheuser-Busch's earliest business partnership in the Hispanic community also included women. During the 1930s, Inez Arias of Susanville, California became the first Latina to distribute Budweiser.
At a time when there were few Hispanic business owners in any industry, Anheuser-Busch was fast becomming a leader in providing business opportunities for Latinos.
La Cerveza Favorita de America - America's Favorite Beer
Long recognized as a marketing leader, Anheuser-Busch has always been innovative in the advertising arena.
Even before radio and television, the company used sheet music and catchy jingles to promote its brands. During the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, Spanish-language Budweiser ads were regularly seen in newspapers, magazines. and roadside signs; as well as in stores, restaurants and bars - providing an important voice for Anheuser-Busch brands.
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While some early ads were direct Spanish-language translations of the English versions, many were specifically developed for Hispanic markets like Puerto Rico, taking into account important cultural and language sensitivities.
"Making Friends Is Our Business"
For nearly a half century, Anheuser-Busch has been guided by the company motto, "Making Friends Is Our Business." This was Adolphus Busch heads into the next century striving to become the world's beer company.
By placing the emphasis on relationships - with employees, business partners, customers and communities - the company recognizes that people are what make it successful.
In the early 1980s, the company's Latino-community strategy followed that same philosophy in developing a department solely dedicated to the Hispanic community - the Corporate Relations department. The departmen's mission remains the same today, as it was then:
To oversee, engage and develop specific initiatives, programs and relationships with national, local and community-based Hispanic organizations that can make a difference and improve the quality of life of Latinos everywhere.
One important focus of the company's Latino outreach efforts is in promoting consumer awareness and education, and responsible drinking by adults. Anheuser-Busch has invested nearly $250 million in programs and activities designed to help prevent alcohol abuse.
In the early 1990s, Anhueser-Busch joined forces with Oscar De La Hoya, the World Welterweight Boxing Champion, to promote responsible drinking among young Hispanic adults. Salud, Respeto y Control, a bilingual, multimedia information campaign, has developed into one of the most popular company campaigns, ever.
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Anheuser-Busch is also widely recognized as a leader helping meet a critical need for Latino students by providing financial resources and additional means of support.
Since 1982, Anheuser-Busch, its family of wholesalers, retail partners and consumers have joined together to contribute nearly $17 million to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) - the nation's largest Hispanic Scholarship organization - thereby earning the company the distinction of being HSF's largest corporate contibutor. In 1998 alone, Anheuser-Busch's efforts generated nearly $1.3 million in scholarships for Hispanic students.
The Next Hundred Years
Anhueser-Busch is a responsible, dependable community partner. We pledge to make a difference in people's lives wherever and whenever possible, by giving back to the communities where we do business.
While "making friends" is a company tradition dating back more than 100 years in the Hispanic community, growing the Anhueser-Busch Latino community family is our future.
Working together, we expect to be celebrating again...in another hundred years.
For more information regarding Anheuser-Busch's programs in the Hispanic Community, please visit the A-B Corporate Relations web site at www.hispanicbud.com
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