Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Covered in this report
- Excluded
- Definition
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- Figure 1: Definition of low/mid/high MHI groups, by city tier
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Volume consumption will stay flat
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- Figure 2: Retail volume sales of beer in China, 2012-22
- Value growth is robust
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- Figure 3: Retail value sales of beer in China, 2012-22
- Wheat beer/white beer and craft beer sees potential
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- Figure 4: Penetration and acceptance rate of niche beer types, China, September 2017
- Companies and brands
- Market leaders adopting different growth strategies
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- Figure 5: Company share of the retail value market, China, 2015-16
- The battle field of high-end beer market becoming crowded
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- Figure 6: Beer brand penetration, China, 2015 vs 2017
- The consumer
- Drinking occasions expand
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- Figure 7: Beer drinking occasion, China, 2014 and 2017
- Increasing brand loyalty suggests consumers moving towards maturity
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- Figure 8: Beer drinking preference, by occasion, China, 2014 and 2017
- Key quality indicator: sensorial stimuli speaks louder than ingredients
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- Figure 9: Factors defining beer quality, China, September 2017
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- What’s driving popularity of craft beer?
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 10: Factors defining beer quality (product level), China, by consumer segment, September 2017
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- Figure 11: Examples of craft beer with sophisticated flavour descriptions, China, 2017
- On-trade beer market needs infusion of new blood
- The facts
- The implications
- Mass market brands can focus on young males
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 12: Example of flavoured beer targeting young consumers, China, 2017
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- Figure 13: Beer with emotional expressions written on packaging, China, 2017
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- A flat market, with retail growing ahead of on-trade
- Premium beer with standard alcoholic content gaining momentum
Market Size and Forecast
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- Total volume will stay flat
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- Figure 14: Total (retail and on-trade) volume sales of beer in China, 2012-22
- Retail market develops faster than on-trade
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- Figure 15: Retail volume sales of beer in China, 2012-22
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- Figure 16: On-trade (non-retail) volume sales of beer in China, 2012-22
- Premiumisation drives retail value
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- Figure 17: Retail value sales of beer in China, 2012-22
Market Factors
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- Healthy drinking momentum: volume control and quality upgrade
- Food service market expansion
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- Figure 18: Tsingtao Brewery’s marketing education about food pairing with beer, China, 2017
- Exoticism vs. localisation
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- Figure 19: Imported beer volume and growth rate, China, 2013-17
- Threats from adjacent categories
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- Figure 20: Typical beer shelf in a convenience store, China, 2017
Market Segmentation
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- ‘Light’ and ‘Strong’ meet half-way
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- Figure 21: Proportion of new beer product launches, by segment, China, 2012-17 (Nov)
- Figure 22: Retail value sales of strong beer in China, 2012-22
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- Figure 23: Examples of new light beer product launches, China, 2017
- Figure 24: Retail value sales of light beer in China, 2012-22
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- Figure 25: Examples of light flavoured and craft beer product launches, China and Global, 2016-17
- Premiumisation of standard beer speeds up
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- Figure 26: Retail value sales of standard beer in China, 2012-22
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Competition intensifies
- Premium cues revolve around brand heritage, styles and craftsmanship
- Innovation trends
Market Share
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- Intensifying competition between the two market leaders
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- Figure 27: Company share of the retail value market, China, 2015-16
- International players aim higher
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- Figure 28: Carlsberg’s Master’s Choice series of imported beer, China, 2017
- Rise of microbreweries
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- Figure 29: Typical examples of local craft beer products, China, 2016-17
Competitive Strategies
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- Premium cues evolving
- Capitalising upon brand heritage
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- Figure 30: Examples of Carlsberg’s retro-style premium beer, China, 2017
- Playing up exoticism
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- Figure 31: Examples of white beer, China, 2015-17
- Highlighting craftsmanship
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- Figure 32: Examples of Tsingtao’s craft-style premium beer, China, 2017
- Targeting specific hobby segments
- Connecting with sports lovers
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- Figure 33: Carlsberg and Tsingtao’s products made for football fans, China, 2017
- Connecting with online gamers
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- Figure 34: Harbin beer sponsored LGD-Gaming, China, 2017
- Beer made for active consumers with strong fitness consciousness
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- Figure 35: Michlob Ultra superior light beer, China, 2017
- Extending into ciders
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- Figure 36: Ciders launched by international beer companies, China, 2016-17
- Figure 37: Strongbow cider, China, 2017
Who’s Innovating?
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- Product innovation trends
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- Figure 38: Top ten new product claims, China, 2015-17 (Dec)
- Limited-edition beer closely associated with pop culture
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- Figure 39: Limited-edition new beer products, China, 2016-17
- Seasonal products going creative
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- Figure 40: Seasonal new beer products, China, 2016-17
- Scope to emphasise ‘whole wheat’
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- Figure 41: new beer products with a “whole wheat” claim, China, 2016-17
- Flavours rise with craft beer
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- Figure 42: Share of new beer product launches, flavoured vs unflavoured, Global, 2016 and 2017
- Figure 43: Top ten new beer product flavours, China, 2015-17 (Dec)
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- Figure 44: Online retailers offering assorted packs of craft beer, China, 2017
- Global innovation highlights
- Cross-over alcohol flavours
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- Figure 45: New beer products with cross-over alcohol flavours, Global, 2016-17
- Beer capsules moving from the home to small restaurants
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- Figure 46: Heineken’s draft beer capsules, China and global, 2015-17
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Consumption occasion expanding
- Becoming more selective of brands
- Quality defined by ‘mouth feel’
- Craft beer and white beer sees greatest future potential
Penetration of Different Alcoholic Drinks
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- Reduced consumption of alcoholic drinks overall has smaller impact on beer
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- Figure 47: Penetration of different alcoholic drinks, by occasion, China, 2015 and 2017
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- Figure 48: Beer penetration (in-home), by age and gender, China, 2015 and 2017
- Figure 49: Beer penetration (out of home), by age and gender, China, 2015 and 2017
- Consumers in the South don’t limit beer consumption at home
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- Figure 50: Penetration of beer, by occasion, China, September 2017
Brand Penetration
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- Smaller brands losing fans
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- Figure 51: Beer brand penetration, China, 2015 vs 2017
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- Figure 52: Heineken’s TV commercial featuring actor Chang Chen, China, 2017
- International brands have managed to penetrate into lower-tier cities
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- Figure 53: Beer brand penetration, by region, China, September 2017
Drinking Occasion
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- Food pairing help boost meal occasions
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- Figure 54: Beer drinking occasion, China, 2014 and 2017
- Sophisticated consumers embracing beer on more occasions
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- Figure 55: Beer drinking occasion, by income, China, 2017
- Different preference by occasion by region
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- Figure 56: Beer drinking occasion, by region, China, September 2017
Beer Drinking Preference
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- Brand loyalty sees significant increase
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- Figure 57: Beer drinking preference, by occasion, China, 2014 and 2017
- Age is an indicator in new brand and niche type choices out of home
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- Figure 58: Beer drinking preference, by gender and age, China, September 2017
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- Figure 59: Beer drinking preference, by gender and age, China, September 2017
Quality Definition
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- Mouth feel is largely defined by flavour
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- Figure 60: Factors defining beer quality, China, September 2017
- Different focus on quality among tier one consumers
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- Figure 61: Factors defining beer quality, by city, China, September 2017
Interest in Niche Beer
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- White beer and craft beer have potential to grow
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- Figure 62: Penetration and acceptance rate of niche beer types, China, September 2017
- Low-alcohol, flavoured beer and cider appeals to females
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- Figure 63: Penetration and acceptance rate of niche beer types, by gender, China, September 2017
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- Strong cross-category competition
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- Figure 64: Penetration of different types of alcoholic drinks – out of home, by consumer segmentation, September 2017
- A preference for international brands
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- Figure 65: Brand penetration, by consumer segmentation, September 2017
- Interest in exploring and sharing
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- Figure 66: Purchasing and drinking habits (at home)*, by consumer segmentation, September 2017
- Flavour and brewing method are more important quality indicators
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- Figure 67: Factors influencing quality perception, by consumer segmentation, September 2017
- High acceptance of stout and white beer
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- Figure 68: Proportion of niche beer triers who claim to like the type, by consumer segmentation, September 2017
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 69: Total (retail and on-trade) volume sales of beer in China, 2012-22
- Figure 70: Retail volume sales of beer in China, 2012-22
- Figure 71: Retail value sales of beer in China, 2012-22
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Appendix – Market Segmentation
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- Figure 72: Retail volume sales of beer in China, by segment, 2012-22
- Figure 73: Retail value sales of beer in China, by segment, 2012-22
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Appendix – Import Data
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- Figure 74: Total (retail and on-trade) imported beer volume in China (million litres), by country, 2015-16
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Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Fan chart forecast
- Abbreviations
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