I don’t know when, in addition to mainstream beer brands, more and more imported beers and craft beers have appeared on the tables of Chinese consumers, especially young consumers. The novel tastes, variety, and easy access to channels make them fast. Gathering a group of fans has brought challenges to the relatively stable domestic beer market.

China has the world's largest beer consumer market. In the face of "spoilers", what changes have taken place in my country's beer industry? Where will it go in the future? The reporter recently conducted research on this.

Beer consumption market is becoming more diversified

Recently, the reporter visited many supermarkets and catering establishments in Beijing and found that consumers' choices for beer vary in different regions and channels.

The reporter searched on multiple e-commerce platforms such as Tmall, JD.com and Yihaodian, and found that imported beer accounted for more than half of the top ten beer products sold. Some imported beers are promoted at low prices in the form of group purchases and spikes, and their sales are extremely impressive. In terms of traditional offline sales channels, there is a different picture.

In the Xihongmen of Auchan Supermarket, the reporter saw a wide range of beer products on the shelves, including dark beer, white beer, and yellow beer. Domestic beer and imported beer basically accounted for half of the country. Sales staff told reporters that consumers generally tend to buy more affordable domestic beer, while imported beer sales are relatively average. In the Wudaokou store of Hualian Supermarket, salesperson Ms. Guo believes that the sales volume of domestic beer is significantly better than that of imported beer. Among imported beers, Corona, Valentine, and Fuga White Beer are more popular, with more than 20 buyers. Year old young man. She revealed to reporters that because domestic consumers don't know much about imported beer, promotional methods such as special offers and tasting are often very attractive to consumers.

Variety is a major selling point of imported beer. There are as many as 20 or 30 kinds of imported beer in the private kitchen of "Yu Niang" in Sanlitun, Beijing. The restaurant staff told reporters that the price of 330ml bottled imported beer is around 20-30 yuan, and the price of 500ml domestic beer is generally around 8 yuan. "It sells well, it just depends on whether you are accustomed to drinking imported beer." In a small shop with an area of less than 20 square meters in Dongzhimen Nei Street, Dongcheng District, the reporter saw that it sold more than 400 kinds of imported beer. Mainly from countries such as Germany, Britain, the United States, Belgium and France. The staff told reporters that due to the rich categories, many foreigners and international students come to the gathering here.

Craft beer is also gradually gaining popularity. In 2013, Pan Dinghao founded his own brand "Panda Craft Brewing". Currently, he has launched more than 30 kinds of home-brewed beer and adjusted the beer mix according to seasonal changes. He told reporters that the main consumer groups of craft brewing are white-collar workers, college students, international students, foreigners, etc. They are generally less sensitive to prices, but more concerned about the taste and quality of beer. He admitted that although the domestic high-end craft brewing market is still in its infancy, he is very optimistic about the market prospects.

Yoon Zhenzhuo, chief operating officer of Korea Platte Craft Beer Co., Ltd. and senior manager of the National Beer Association of Korea, said that the World Beer Cup held in the United States divides beer into 96 categories, but Asian countries such as China, Japan, Korea, and the world Most beer produced by most beer companies is just one of them, that is, Lager beer, which has a refreshing taste. For consumers who drink this beer for a long time, the texture and taste of craft beer are quite striking and attractive.

"So far, most consumers will still choose lager beer with relatively low alcohol content and less irritating." Yin Zhenzhuo said that even in the United States, the world's largest craft beer industry, the market share of craft beer is The rate is only 12.2%. There are about 70 craft breweries in South Korea. Although they currently only account for 0.2% of the Korean beer market, they are developing at a rate of 30% to 40% every year, and they have high expectations for future development.

The accelerated growth of imported beer still accounts for a low proportion

Data shows that from 2011 to 2015, my country's beer imports increased from 64,100 tons to 538,300 tons, and imports increased from US$91 million to US$575 million. In 5 years, the import volume increased by 8.4 times, and the import value increased by 6.3 times. From January to September this year, the total amount of imported beer reached 512,900 kiloliters, close to the total amount of last year.

The rapid growth of imported beer has stirred up "a pool of spring water." Industry insiders pointed out that due to the relatively high value of single imported beer, it has basically occupied the mid-to-high-end beer market. "Imported beer has gradually occupied the apex of the pyramid of China's beer industry. With the increase of consumers, the volume and brands of imported beer have become more and more, and they have begun to penetrate the "tower waist"." Zhu Dan, a researcher in the food and beverage industry Peng believes that this is a challenge that cannot be ignored for domestic beer companies.

In this regard, He Yong, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the China Liquor Industry Association, analyzed and pointed out that one major reason why imported beer is so eye-catching is that the base number is small and the growth rate is fast. However, the overall proportion of imported beer is still not high, accounting for only 100 One point more. Moreover, imported beer mainly preempts the early adopters in high-consumption cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and has outstanding performance in hypermarkets and e-commerce channels. These channels are more likely to attract attention and cause misunderstandings with a high share of people. Compared with other mature beer markets, the proportion of imported beer in my country is still very low.

"Beer has two major attributes, that is, limited creativity and extreme freshness." He Yong said that the premise of beer innovation is to ensure food safety and cannot be used at will. In addition, the quality of beer firstly depends on the freshness of the product. In order to maximize the freshness of beer, beer manufacturers often operate according to the principle of localized sales. At present, the overall layout of my country's beer industry has been basically completed, but product innovation still needs to be further improved. "Current beer consumption is changing from'satisfying' to'drinking well.' The diversified and personalized consumer demand makes some consumers' creative pursuit of imported beer surpass the requirements for its freshness." He Yong Say.

Is the quality of imported beer necessarily better than domestic beer? He Yong believes that although beer has entered China for more than 100 years, it has not yet formed its own consumer culture and is easily imported and eroded by foreign beer culture. In fact, the beer production technology is unobstructed in the world. As an imported industry, China's beer industry has advanced processing equipment and equipment than many developed countries. In addition, my country’s beer consumption is dominated by social sharing. Therefore, the products are mainly light beer. Strong alcohol beer is a market segment with relatively few applications. "But this does not mean that Chinese beer companies cannot produce. It's just that the current demand is not as big as imagined."

According to the food industry analyst of Haitong Securities, after the growth rate of my country's beer import volume and value reached its peak in 2014, it began to decline in 2015, and the growth rate further slowed down in the first half of 2016. The average price of imported beer continues to decline, and the average price of domestic beer is rising steadily, reflecting the increasing rationality of domestic consumers facing imported beer. It is expected that the market share of imported beer will hardly exceed 5% in the future.

"China’s beer industry was one of the first high-level participants in the domestic and international competition after entering zero tariffs in 2003. Under the laws of market economy, supply always lags behind demand. If it is determined by changes in local and certain market segments The future of the beer industry is sloppy.” He Yong believes.