The making of Kasteel, you find true richness everywhere

From our family brewery in Izegem, Kasteel creates moments of true richness worldwide. Around our beer brand’s 30th birthday, our CEO Xavier Vanhonsebrouck had the ambitious plan of portraying the impact Kasteel has on people. Xavier found a like-minded partner in Geronimo, a production company that makes high-end television, films and adverts.

Kasteel turned 30 in 2021. We celebrated the birthday with an anniversary label and a new Kasteel beer: Kasteel Xtra. Behind the scenes, the anniversary kicked off the start of a brand-new campaign: Kasteel, you find true richness everywhere.

Xavier Vanhonsebrouck: ‘Since the commercial launch of Kasteel Donker in 1991, our Kasteel beers have become available in more than 60 countries. I would not be exaggerating if I said that we receive a mail from a Kasteel fan almost daily. Those messages come from all over the world. They range from a daughter who told us how her 91-year-old father, Marcel, still enjoys a Kasteel beer every day to an Israeli expat in Texas who doesn’t miss the home front but does miss her favourite beer: Kasteel Rouge. For me as a brewer, these are the kind of stories that show how Kasteel creates moments of true richness worldwide.’

Creative partner in crime

The plan was set, now just to find a creative partner to develop the idea. ‘When we launched a campaign for the Filou, Belgian Regional Beer, we did it in collaboration with Geronimo. Gertjan De Smet, Creative Director, and his team came up with lots of great pranks, including a wall of crates in front of the Flemish parliament building and the vaccination beer which was given out at the market at Izegem. So, it was an easy choice to make,’ says Xavier.

Gertjan De Smet from Geronimo pipes in: ‘About two years ago, during what was at the time already legendary brainstorms with Xavier at the bar of Michelle’s Pub & Brasserie in Izegem, the idea arose to give shape to Xavier’s long-held dream to map out the worldwide export of – and love for – Kasteel beer in a cinematic way. In no time – and only deterred by a global virus – we compiled a top team, with director and top photographer Jef Boes beside me at the helm. The highly tangible synergy between Geronimo and Kasteel beer, both creatively as well as strategically, culminated in a wonderful campaign that beautifully depicts the role of the beer brand in people’s lives across the globe.’

Destination X

At the presentation of the first video, Xavier was certain that he had found the ideal partner for the campaign in Geronimo. ‘Both the sentiment as well as the images were exactly as I had envisaged them. I got a taste for more! The production team subsequently went to four other countries to portray our Kasteel beers. While developing our campaign, Gertjan told me about a new game show.’

“Kasteel is more than a beer brand, it is a beer moment. A moment of true richness.

‘When, not long after, we also worked out an extremely ambitious plan for TV Destination X (a brand-new and misleading game show throughout Europe), we immediately linked the core of the programme (searching for and discovering amazing European locations) to that of Kasteel beer (discovering true richness wherever you are). The natural-born entrepreneur Xavier Vanhonsebrouck didn’t hesitate for a second and got involved in the project. So not only did several new moments of richness take place within the reality sections of the programme, but the ‘You find true richness everywhere’ campaign also immediately got its first media launch in the form of seven commercials aired around the Prime 1 programme on VTM. Now that the campaign and the campaign premise of Kasteel beer can finally be shown to the world, we can’t wait to continue developing the story in the coming years,’ says Gertjan.

‘Kasteel is more than a beer brand, it is a beer moment. A moment of true richness. I hope consumers can relate to the stories we tell. Above all, I hope that these stories inspire consumers to give themselves a moment of true richness because you find true richness everywhere,’ concludes Xavier.

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