Beer Retirement Account • A Digital Rewards Platform to Solve a Key Societal Challenge

In Colombia, only 18% of citizens have access to a full pension due to widespread informal employment. We bridged this gap by partnering strategically with Poker (Colombia’s second top beer brand) to introduce the Beer Retirement Account. In collaboration with the Colombian government and the Colombian Pension Fund (Colpensiones), shopkeepers can now accumulate points with every beer they sell, which is translated directly into pension savings through AB InBev's global B2B digital platform, BEES.

Historically, the digital rewards platform BEES enabled shopkeepers to purchase beer for their businesses and earn redeemable rewards points. However, an astonishing 70% of these points went unused and expired. The innovative approach of converting BEES points to pension savings involves straightforward adjustments to the existing digital platform, which organizes and simplifies this vast quantity of data to identify how many points are not being used by each shopkeeper. It then suggests, via platform push notifications, that they convert these points into money and transfer it directly to their pension accounts. The service’s seamless integration ensures shopkeepers can easily opt-in without disrupting their daily business activities. Equipped with this tool, shopkeepers now view every sale of Poker not just as revenue but as an investment in their future.

Shopkeepers—who form the backbone of AB InBev’s distribution network and represent over 40% of the market in Colombia—often set aside long-term financial planning in favor of immediate needs such as family expenses and business overheads. This initiative was crafted specifically to make future savings accessible and manageable, while also encouraging shopkeepers to stock more Poker, which simultaneously bolsters their future financial stability and grows AB InBev's market presence. This innovative pivot—from reward points to pension contributions—turned a routine transactional sale into a substantive, life-impactful relationship with Colombian shopkeepers.

Together with AB InBev, we turned routine business transactions into a stepping stone towards a financially secure future for many Colombians. The implementation of the Beer Retirement Account sets the stage for a sustainable economic improvement geared towards shopkeepers aged 40 to 60 years from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This group, instrumental in beer sales and traditionally marginalized in pension schemes, has shown impressive engagement with the program. In merely four months, over 10,000 shopkeepers have started their journey towards a dignified retirement, with order volumes for Poker soaring by 12.5% nationwide.