Asahi beer’s mainland China expansion targets Shanghai and Shenzhen before widening retail footprint across the country
- The Japanese beer brand, currently sold mainly through Japanese restaurants in China, plans to use other channels including grocery stores, hotels and e-commerce
- Asahi is targeting the premium end of the market with emphasis on taste as a strong point of differentiation
Japanese beer company Asahi plans to expand in China, targeting major cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen initially before widening its footprint across the country, the world’s largest beer market.
“We want to grow our brand from a regional Japanese brand to a global icon,” said Kinyi Choo, managing director of Asahi Beer Asia, “and to be available across all of China, across all channels.”
The Japanese beer brand, which mainly sells to Japanese restaurants in China, wants to be made available via all channels including grocery stores, restaurants and hotels.
“Our strategy is very much focused on being the leader in the Japanese channels rather than the whole market, focusing on Asahi Super Dry as our flagship brand, and riding the 2022 success of Asahi 2.0 in Japan,” said Choo in an interview with the Post.
“China is a key market in Asia,” said Choo. “One strategic pillar we’ll be entering is e-commerce, a very critical but also a very challenging channel.”
