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Budweiser APAC sees ‘big growth potential’ for beer in China
Budweiser Brewing Co APAC has revealed plans to expand into more Chinese cities with its “super premium” beer brands.
The company, which is considered Asia’s largest beer company by sales and is a subsidiary of drinks giant AB InBev, described how, after China lifted its pandemic restrictions, it had seen a resurgence in demand for high end beers.
Budweiser APAC co-chair and chief executive Jan Craps told ESM in an interview following its annual results: “[In China] this quarter we really see strong signals for recovery in the market which is fully opening.”
During the interview, Craps revealed that Budweiser APAC aims to increase the number of Chinese cities where it sells its “super premium” beer brands, including Budweiser, Hoegaarden and Corona and hinted: “We believe in the next 10 years there is big growth potential here.”
Back in December, China dropped its strict three-year-old zero-Covid policy, which had hit the country’s hospitality industry considerably and Budweiser APAC saw its overall China volumes fall 3% as its market share shrank in response.
Looking forward, Budweiser APAC is now assessing that the premium segment will pick up some of the potential growth. According to a research report by SPDB International, Budweiser APAC’s sales of high-end and above products have more than 40% of the China market.
Additionally, drinks analyst Zhu Danpeng also explained that the beer industry in China has entered a fast-growth phase in the premium category and added: “The whole market is growing larger in scale and Budweiser APAC will grow as the leader of this segment.”
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