{"id":11665,"date":"2023-02-04T07:30:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T07:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=11665"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:34:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:34:23","slug":"tapping-into-chinas-beer-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/tapping-into-chinas-beer-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Tapping into China’s beer market"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s beer market accounts for 12% of global sales. Beer enthusiasts across the country are now starting to experiment with new trends including premium and craft products, presenting excellent new opportunities for foreign investors interested in entering the market<\/h2>\n

China has been the world\u2019s largest beer market since 2002. The country\u2019s beer industry is also the fastest growing in the world, with total revenue projected to reach US$131.5 billion (\u00a3106.7 billion) by the end of 2023. However, the market is facing some challenges, such as the overcapacity of mass beer production and decreasing domestic beer consumption. That said, the value of beer sales in the country continues to grow thanks to rising demand for premium and flavoured beers, which foreign brands dominate.<\/p>\n

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Market consolidation and key players<\/h4>\n

China\u2019s beer market is highly consolidated. The five top businesses \u2014 CR Snow, Tsingtao Brewery, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Yanjing Beer and Carlsberg \u2014 account for the bulk of sales volume and continue to hold a reasonably consistent share of the market. The industry is dominated by domestic companies (with a couple of exceptions for foreign brands who had an early entry in the market) making it challenging for international brands to join and take market share away from well-established competitors.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the combined market share of the top five brands reached more than 70%. Small and medium-sized brands carve up the remaining market share. Among the key players, CR Snow holds the largest market share (23.2%), followed by Tsingtao Brewery (16.4%), Budweiser Asia Pacific (16.2%), Yanjing Beer (8.5%), and Carlsberg (6.1%).<\/p>\n

Domestic Chinese beer brands benefit from superior base markets, geographically distinct branding and better local consumer loyalty. For example, CR Beer Snow clearly outsells its competition in Sichuan, the northeast and eastern China, while Tsingtao Beer is the preferred choice in its home province of Shandong. Successful foreign brands have had to rely on international endorsements and effective marketing.<\/p>\n

Budweiser and Carlsberg have both built a solid brand reputation and loyal consumer base by engaging in activities such as the promotion of important music festivals in China. In addition, the two brands gained an edge by entering the market between 2010 and 2012 \u2014 that is, significantly earlier than domestic companies that only started debuting a series of high-end beers in 2015. This is mainly because the Chinese beer industry has been progressively shifting towards a higher-end segmentation.<\/p>\n