HEINEKEN is launching its first new product in 20 years in a $6 million bid to combat flagging sales in the face of stiff competition from premium craft beer rivals.

The Dutch beer brand, which operates and brews in Australia under a joint venture with food and drinks giant Lion, is this month launching Heineken 3, a premium mid-strength beer with lower calories and carbs.

But before you get excited about Heineken’s marketing, which describes it as “more than just another beer” — it is, unfortunately, just another beer. Apparently it tastes pretty good, though.

As well as being the first new product in two decades, the $6 million Australian launch will mark the biggest marketing push for Heineken in that time, and will act as a test market for a possible global rollout.

“It’s tailored for Australia, but it is absolutely important for us globally,” said Heineken Lion Australia marketing manager Alessandro Manunta.

Last year, the Heineken joint venture made a small increase in profit despite sales declining by 9.2 per cent to $65.8 million, Fairfax reported. The sales drop was attributed to discerning Aussie drinkers turning their nose up at the locally brewed version.

Heineken currently has just shy of two per cent of the total beer market, and 11 per cent of the premium segment.

It comes as beer consumption in Australia is at 68 year lows, according to data released last year by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Fifty years ago, beer accounted for three quarters of all alcohol consumed, but that has fallen to 41 per cent.

Over the past decade, the popularity of mid-strength beer has grown at the expense of low-strength beer. Mid-strength now makes up 19 per cent of all beer consumed, compared with five per cent for low-strength.

It’s that mid-strength segment, which is rapidly growing at about 50 per cent every year, where Heineken sees an opportunity. Mr Manunta said the new brand was particularly targeting “daytime drinking occasions”.

“In Australia [daytime drinking] accounts for 50 per cent of total beer volumes, which is roughly 850 million litres,” he said. “So the chunk of the pie is really big, and this occasion is dominated by mid-strength, which has about 20 per cent volume share.”

In other words, there’s a big market for beers which don’t leave you too sh*tfaced to keep partying on into the evening. The challenge for Heineken is to take on not just other beers, but other “afternoon drinking” favourites like wine and cider.

“The objective of Heineken 3 is to attract new consumers into the segment,” he said.

The low-calorie, lower-alcohol brand positioning of Heineken 3, which is being marketed with the tagline “Have It All”, was developed based on research which found consumers really are trying to have it all.

“We asked consumers what they were planning to do this summer,” Mr Manunta said.

“Almost 50 per cent said they were planning to spend more time exercising and living a healthy and balanced lifestyle, but at the same time, 70 per cent of the same group were saying this summer they’re planning to drink more alcohol and go out with their friends.”

Mr Manunta said he would be “disappointed” if Heineken 3 hadn’t reached double-digit share of Heineken sales within three years. “It’s a great liquid,” he said.

“The product itself has already won different awards around the globe, and testing locally has put it in the top five per cent of all beer tested in Australia.”

frank.chung@news.com.au