It’s hard to imagine, but there was once a time when Budweiser, the King of Beers, did not hold a steady court in the CNMI.
But that all changed in 1973, when Guam-based Ambrose Inc. opened Mar Parc Inc. in a humble Chalan Kanoa office.
Today, the reason island residents can pair some fresh, delicious sashimi and finadeni’ alongside a cold Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, Busch Light, or Budweiser is because the global chain of distribution runs through Mar Pac.
According to Guy Pudney, Mar Pac resident manager, dozens of shipping containers filled with beer come through the Port of Saipan on a steady rotation.
“We represent the biggest beer distributor in the world–Anheuser-Busch,” Pudney says, mentioning that the global beer giant has over 300 different beers in their portfolio.
However, despite hundreds of beverages at Anheuser Busch’s disposal, prior to the 1973 beginning of Mar Pac on Saipan, island residents only had one of those brands available for purchase: Budweiser. And because the distribution occurred out of Guam, delivery of Budweiser to retailers could be delayed. It was a significant advantage to have Mar Pac on an island, according to Pudney.
“For one, it’s better stock management,” Pudney shares. “If a store needed their beer and they’re out, or they’re running low, they would have to wait for whatever the shipping schedule was like in Guam to come here. But nowadays if you need it, you can order it and we’ll deliver it to you the next day,” Pudney adds.
And obviously, in this day and age, customers have a wide variety of Anheuser-Busch products to select.
As people who host weekend beach parties are well aware, some of Mar Pac’s top sellers are Michelob Ultra, Busch, and Busch Light.
“It’s very drinkable,” Pudney says, speaking about Michelob Ultra’s reason for popularity. “It’s light, not too filling.” Pudney adds that drinkability is important because people on the island love to pair a cold, refreshing beer with chesa.
The resident manager adds that Busch and Busch Light are likewise “very, very drinkable” and sell at a more affordable price point than other comparable brands, which explains their popularity as well.
Two of Anheuser Busch’s global brands––Budwesier and Stell Artois–are even well known by tourists, Pudney says. Pudney confirms that all over the world customers can enjoy the refreshing flavor of both products. However, it might surprise even veteran consumers to know that the same Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and Busch products they know, and love are not available outside of the U.S. and its territories.
“When tourists come here from Japan, China, Korea they know Budweiser, but when they see Bud Light, they go ‘what’s that? That’s a new beer.’ They enjoy it,” Pudney says.
This October, all of Mar Pac will be celebrating 50 years of distributing beers in the Marianas.
Towards the later weeks of that month, Mar Pac will host a “wine soiree,” golf tournament, and golf tournament banquet to celebrate decades of selling the Marianas’ favorite beers.
But perhaps the most buzzworthy is the return of the Brewmaster Dinner, which Pudney says has been in high demand each time Mar Pac decides to host one.
Although all these events are still being actively organized, Pudney shared with Variety that the plan is to bring an off-island beer brewmaster on island so that he can work with local chefs. Together, the chefs and brewmaster will prepare a five-course dinner where appetizers and entrees will be expertly paired together.