It’s tough at the top for China’s beer industry. China’s top five beer producers already control a whopping 73.3% of the market in 2016, meaning gaining market share is not likely to get any easier. Much of the growth can be found at the mid- to high-end bracket, as increasingly brand-conscious Chinese consumers chose upscale beer over their cheaper counterparts.
One area which does offer opportunities is craft beer. Not a trend that many would have picked out a few years ago in a country where pale lager has traditionally dominated (and still does in lower-tier cities and rural areas), but the emergence of craft beer, bars and breweries is perhaps the most notable change to China’s urban beer culture over recent years. Not so long ago, a craft beer establishment would have been a curiosity and overwhelmingly the haunt of expats. These days, younger Chinese urbanites particular about the brands they buy are also embracing the craft taste. A beer drinker cannot seem to move in Beijing, Shanghai or in other Chinese cities without coming across a new craft beer joint complete with its own in-house brewery and often offering respectable choice of quality pub food.
Beijing’s recent and well-attended craft beer festival is a case in point. Held over three days within one of the city’s hutongs (traditional residential alleys and lanes), the event showcased craft beers from 39 breweries from 14 countries, and is further evidence of the huge cultural shift changing China’s approach to beer.
For more information, please see the reports China Resources Beer: Strong innovation needed for high-end products published in April 2018 and Beer industry Q&A published in January 2018.
