We kicked off our Thursday morning with a meeting at Anheuser-Busch’s (AMBEV) Direct Distribution Center in Rio de Janeiro. Right away we were welcomed with open arms by a highly energetic and boisterous chant from the AMBEV employees, which occurs daily at this plant in order to show how committed the employees are in the company.  It’s called a “morning meeting.”  

We learned about multiple different aspects of the AMBEV business in Brazil from the energetic speakers including price management, events, marketing, and even the brewing process.  Our class learned that Rio’s plant is responsible for 15% of the country’s beer production and is the largest brewery in Latin America. One of the interesting things this plant does is to brew beer extremely concentrated and then dilute it at the very end of the process in order to increase capacity and maximize efficiency. We also found it interesting that one of the speakers explained that the biggest challenge in running a multinational brewery is brewing a consistent beer that tastes good (and the same) all the time, every time, everywhere.

We learned about three of the most well-known Ambev beers of Brazil.  Antarctica, with a blue-themed logo, is marketed as the "beer of Carnaval."  Brahma, with a red-themed logo, is the "beer of soccer" (or football as the Brazilians would call it).  And finally, SKOL, with a yellow-themed logo is the "beer of the beach."

Following the educational AMBEV presentations, we lunched out at another fantastic all-you-can-eat buffet. If our class learned one thing about food in Brazil, it’s that they know how to leave their customers feeling full and happy. We filled our plates with delicious food and made our way up to the top floor where we all ate and conversed together. The restaurants, especially all-you-can-eat weigh-your-plate buffets, are places every one of us will remember back home because the food is so delicious and filling.

After lunch we met Octavio Costa de Oliveira from the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografía e Estatistica (IBGE) Agricultural Census. He explained to us the growing trends in several sectors of the Brazilian agricultural economy including beef, ethanol, and the environment. We learned about the innovative techniques used to collect data, involving Portable Digital Assistant with GPS, which now allows IBGE to efficiently collect data from farmers.

A much needed break was essential and the Sugarloaf Mountain was a perfect option as it provided great views and quality conversations. The Sugarloaf Mountain cable car, located in the Urca neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, allows people to ride a cable car 1,200 feet high overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. The cable car ride provides two stops, each displaying incredible views of the city and ocean from two separate mountains. We were able to take fantastic pictures and enjoy quality time above the most beautiful city in the world.  

After a fabulous experience at the Sugarloaf Mountain, our group sat down for a dinner at Bella Blu restaurant. Bella Blu is not your typical American pizzeria.  Instead, you sit down as a group and are served family style from waiters who bring around multiple different toppings of pizzas.  Options included garlic shrimp, ham/egg/cheese, beef stroganoff, among others.  You can take as many pieces as you’d like; they just keep it coming!  Following our pizza, we were greeted with dessert pizzas, which included reses, M&M, and banana cinnamon flavors.

Following dinner, our group had the opportunity to experience some of Rio’s night life scene. After our busy day, many of us headed into the famous Lapa district of Rio de Janeiro to head to Rio Scenarium samba bar. Rio Scenarium is a world-renowned four story samba bar and restaurant that offered us a full night of fun and dancing. Rio Scenarium was an upscale bar that had various vintage ornaments and furniture throughout. This bar differed from the samba bar we visited in Sao Paulo, given that it was larger, newer, and offered different types of music on each floor. We even met other American students at Rio Scenarium including a study group from Penn State University! It was a great experience and really capped off the night.