How did Heineken expand to the United States?
Between the two world wars domestic beer consumption came under pressure due to the economic depression and this affected Heineken as well. The board decided to steer a new course and placed greater emphasis on looking beyond the national borders for expansion. Exports, which had already been cautiously started at the end of the nineteenth century, were energetically pursued, resulting in shipments of Heineken beer to Belgium, the United Kingdom, West Africa, to what was then the Dutch East Indies and to the West Indies. Of great importance for the premium image of the Heineken brand all over the world is the strong position that the brand holds in the United States. Thanks to an alert response, the first shipment of Heineken Beer was unloaded in Hoboken, New Jersey a mere three days after the end of Prohibition in 1933. That proved to be the start of a tremendous growth for Heineken in the U.S.
