Source丨Commercial Real Estate Watch
Author丨Guo Shuyu
In May, when summer and coolness are coming, the perfect time for skewers, barbecues, and crayfish has arrived, and beer as a "rice companion" is also quietly changing.
Source丨Visual China
From the initial plain taste of industrial beer has become the main consumption of the public, and then with the mature craft beer of China's beer industry gradually entered the public eye, after 2008 craft beer entered a mature development stage, the country appeared craft beer halls and beer festivals and other craft beer cultural activities, in 2018 by beer industry related organizations defined as workshop beer, beer changes also synchronously record the changes in urban material life and consumer demand.
Fashionable and casual Very marketable
Craft beer is more fashionable than baijiu, more casual than cocktails, and craft bars are cleaner and more comfortable than late-night food stalls, and the rich flavors can meet everyone's different needs. For young people, craft beer represents a new social style that is relaxed without indulgence, stylish but not decent.
Source丨Visual China
In the past two years, craft beer pubs have gradually become a popular choice among young people, and the data shows that the compound annual growth rate of China's craft beer consumption in 2013~2020 is as high as 35.38%. At present, although the sales volume of China's craft beer market accounts for only about 3%, after the development of craft beer in the decade from 2012 to 2022, the category voice has greatly exceeded the actual sales, and has become the only way to high-end and quality products. It is estimated that in 2025, China's craft brew consumption can reach 2.5 billion liters, a year-on-year increase of nearly 30%.
The circle opens the way and the capital backs it
Consumption is weak, night time has become an excellent incremental time, the sense of atmosphere and strong social attributes of pubs are the most popular night leisure space for consumers, and craft pubs are a great weapon to win the love of young people. Compared with noisy bistros and bartending that are not suitable for novices, craft brewing with niche, hand-brewed and rich taste choices is more suitable for young people's strong social attributes and high repurchase rate, at the same time, craft beer as a high-end business in the beer industry has gradually been recognized by capital.
Since 2013, craft beer has continued to receive capital attention. Driven by capital, leading independent craft brewers started chain operations, producing bottled/bottled beers and developing online sales channels. Leading breweries have also launched high-end beer products, and craft brewing has begun to enter the traditional industrial beer channel.
According to Tianyan inspection data, since the financing record, the number of financing in the craft beer track in 2018, 2019 and 2020 was 3, 5 and 5 respectively, but it began to grow significantly from 2021 to 2022, and about 20 craft beer brands have obtained financing, including Bishan Village, AB Art Craft Brewing, Ren Guts, Fanbo Craft Brewing, Seventeen Gates, etc. In 2021, the financing of craft beer brands exceeded 1 billion yuan.
TAGSIU stores
Recently, the wind of financing continues, Shandong Taishan Beer Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Taishan Beer") officially announced the completion of a new financing, focusing on craft brewing restaurant brand TAGSIU also completed an angel round of financing of nearly 10 million yuan, which will be used for product research and development, store expansion, membership system construction and brand digital construction. Indian craft beer brand Bira91 announced a $10 million Series D funding round, among other things.
Traditional companies have set foot in it
Emerging brands are emerging one after another, traditional enterprises have also joined the craft beer field, and head enterprises such as China Resources Beer, Tsingtao Beer and Chongqing Beer have also laid out craft beer.
Budweiser acquired Boxing Cat in 2017, Carlsberg took a stake in Beijing A in 2019, and Yanjing Beer and Tsingtao Beer have also launched their own craft brands. For example, Yanjing Beer launched Yanjing Original White Beer, and later launched Yanjing No. 9 Puree. Tsingtao Beer has launched Tsingtao puree beer in recent years, with a shelf life of 7 days. In 2022, Chongqing Beer launched "Xiangjing No. 1", claiming to use intelligent constant temperature beer barrels, which can extend the shelf life to 30 days.
The veteran Bianjing Beer is based on market research, combined with category planning, playing a market combination box, focusing on craft beer and providing consumers with slightly drunk drinking wine. In terms of products, Bianjing Beer still inherits the recipe of "Old Bianjing", bringing consumers a better taste experience and food safety guarantee. In order to cater to the market, Bianjing craft wheat white beer was launched.
Not only that, the high adaptability of craft beer and offline, as well as the "Internet celebrity feeling" that comes with it, have also aroused the interest of the catering industry. Chain restaurants or beverage stores such as Banu, Michelle Ice City, Starbucks, and Haidilao have launched their own brands of craft brewing.
Among them, Michelle Ice City opened the "Fulujia Brewery" through its own Fulujia convenience store, extending tea drinking to the "morning C and evening A" (morning coffee, evening alcohol) of young people. The brand currently has about 15 stores, and it has briefly "out of the circle" on Xiaohongshu, which also proves the continued popularity of the craft beer circuit.
The wind of craft brewing blows into central China
In addition to national chain brands, the momentum of craft brewing is gradually concentrated in the central cities. For example, Hunan and Henan will open urban craft beer festivals in 2023.
In terms of brands, the central China region has also run many craft beer brands, such as Wuhan's local craft brewing brand No. 18 Tavern and Little Devil.
Little Devils Brewer
Founded in August 2016, Devils Brewery is a craft beer brand operated by a pair of Chinese and American multinational partners, and since the opening of the first store (Optics Valley store) in 2016, it has gathered a group of craft beer enthusiasts in Wuhan with the combination of authentic American craft brewing and local elements.
Tavern 18
In 2013, No. 18 Tavern tried to integrate local and international elements with extreme beer, from following foreign labels to making beer flavors that meet the preferences of local consumers.
In terms of store location, Little Devil is basically rooted in Wuhan's core business district and has night economy and cultural attributes, such as Wuhan Tiandi, Huafa Zhongcheng Commercial Capital, Optics Valley Style Street and other 4 stores. No. 18 Tavern has opened 4 stores with the art-rich K11 Art Mall and K11 Select, and Wuhan Greenland Colorful City.
In terms of products, Little Devil has launched hundreds of beers: the continuous aroma and smooth and refreshing IPA, the IPA of the Lychee Milkshake with citrus and lychee aromas, and even the hot dry noodles with nonfat peanut butter and chili pepper Golden Shitao. The No. 18 pub is more in line with the city and festival genes in product research and development, and the enthusiastic "Jumping East Lake · IPA" and other city-limited models, the wave of puree brought by the ultimate acidic + strong mixed fruit aroma, and the World Cup limited oolong wheat. Not only that, the "deep" No. 18 pub has also broken through geographical boundaries and began to expand to other places, including Haikou, Changsha, Nanjing and Shenzhen.
Compared with Wuhan's local brands, the Changsha market is more like a stage for craft beer brands, which has attracted many craft breweries and cutting-edge products. In 2022, craft beer will develop rapidly in the Hunan market, and major brands will lay out the market, such as Youbrao and Renchuang, participating in the 2022 Zhongchang Sand Sugar Wine Conference and Renchuang City Investment Promotion Exhibition, and continue to expand in the Hunan market; While opening new stores, the listed company of bistros, Helensi also spreads goods at the Changsha terminal; Beer brewing equipment manufacturer Lehui International's own brand "Fresh Beer 30 Kilometers" was launched and built in Changsha Wangcheng, and has cooperated with Freshippo, Metro, Haidilao and Fengmao skewers to provide fresh beer processing services.
Jinxing Craft Brewing in Henan Market is a brand of Jinxing Beer Group. Combined with the Internet new retail model, it adopts the operation mode of "takeaway flash delivery + community stores", relies on the layout of factories all over the country, provides strong supply chain guarantee, and provides consumers with fresh craft beer.
Canned, bottled, bagged, original fresh beer series, craft beer, small champagne series, fruit beer series, Golden Star beer continues to innovate, with more than 60 varieties of products.
Craft Brewing How to break the circle?
Of course, the road to the craft brewing market is still very long, and brand building and expansion are still not fueled by capital.
For example, at present, most consumer groups are still more suitable for low-alcohol, low-hop, low-malt industrial beer, which is the main blue ocean of the beer market. For craft brewing that is artisanal and fermented for a longer period of time, adaptation requires a process.
In addition, craft beer is more expensive and cannot keep up with the high consumption of industrial beer, with more than half of Chinese consumers in 2019 saying they are unwilling to pay a premium of more than 25% for industrial beer. In other words, most consumers cannot yet accept the high price of craft brewing. Craft brew is delicious, but the reason why its pricing is so much higher than industrial beer is also based on the fact that some young consumers can pay for creativity and individuality, but obviously not every young person can afford it.
Secondly, from the definition of craft brewing, craft brewing advocates diversified taste and personalization, and a qualified craft brewery includes tens of millions of yuan of canning equipment, brewing equipment, and working capital, etc., and the overall cost is hundreds of millions. This places higher demands on brands that want to be in the craft brewing circuit for a long time.
Finally, in terms of channels, craft brewing is difficult to compete with traditional beer, and it is necessary to build its own channels or cooperate with other enterprises to reach more consumers from traditional channels such as supermarkets and convenience stores.
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