Craft beer: a new outlet for beer consumption upgrades

Source: International Business Daily

Original title: The number of entrants increased by nearly 100% per year (citation)

Craft Beer: A New Outlet for Beer Consumption Upgrade (Theme)

In the hot summer, it is always cool and pleasant for friends to meet for barbecue and beer. When shopping for beer, consumers will find that today's beer products are no longer the same taste, Indian pale ale, amber lager, hard soda... With its personalized, diversified and high-end image, the fragrant craft beer of Baiwei is quickly "circled" young consumers.

In the face of the rapidly rising market, not only the rapid layout of local brands, accelerating the launch of craft beer products, imported craft beer brands also hope to seize this business opportunity, a consumption upgrade war on beer is thick.

What is craft beer?

"The word 'craft brewing' is really abused", Shen Kai, founder of Dream Brewing, Hops, and Eight Pints, recently said publicly, "In a fourth-tier city, 5 yuan 1 kg of beer is also called craft beer, and the imported beer of 150 yuan and 1 cup in a bar in Beijing is also called craft beer." ”

In his view, at present, China lacks relevant craft beer standards, and consumers' concept of craft beer is also vague.

So what is craft beer? Beer industry expert Fang Gang told the International Business Daily reporter that modern craft beer originated from the "return movement" launched by hippies in the United States after World War II, advocating anti-industrialization and anti-urbanization, and on this basis, it slowly evolved into a specialty beer or personalized beer that is different from mainstream beer.

"In the past, the beer we drank was a taste, and the needs of consumers had commonalities, but over time, consumers also wanted to drink something different, of course, provided that the income of consumers increased, which also provided soil for the development of craft beer." Fang Gang said. In his view, craft beer is a direct product of consumption upgrading.

On the other side of the globe, the curtain has also opened on a beer consumption upgrade. Jakob Linuff, Consul General of the Danish Consulate General in Shanghai, told the International Business Daily reporter that Denmark has unique advantages in terms of climate, raw materials and other aspects of winemaking. A long time ago, there were brewing workshops in many farms, which were small in scale and well-made in craftsmanship. Over the past 100 years, after experiencing industrial production, small breweries have gradually been acquired or acquired by large brewers. However, with the rise of Nordic neo-gastronomy, consumers are pursuing more modern and diverse tastes, which is also driving the rise of small craft breweries. Mikkeller is one of the many small craft beer brands that have sprung up in Denmark not only to meet the needs of their own consumers, but also to explore the global market.

According to Lin Lang, Denmark does not have a specific standard for craft beer. The person in charge of Beer Music said that quality and integrity are the key to craft beer. Craft brewers incorporate their unique style by using high-quality and innovative ingredients based on brewing traditions.

"The word 'craft brew' translates to the English word craft bear, but after translating it into Chinese has an exclusive, non-neutral word. Therefore, the legislature did not incorporate this term into the national statutory standard, but used another word , 'workshop beer'. Fang Gang said.

As early as October 1, 2019, the industry standard "Workshop Beer and Its Production Practices" was released and implemented. The standard sets standards for the basic requirements of the production and business premises of the workshop beer, the site selection and factory environment, the requirements of the production area, and the facilities and equipment.

"But the problem now is that there is a technical difference between market language and technical language. Craft beer as a market word has been generally accepted by manufacturers and consumers, the market does not understand the technical terms, technical terms do not accept the market terms. Fang Gang said bluntly.

Looking around the world, there is still no uniform standard for craft beer. The American Brewing Association's definition of craft beer is often mentioned. According to the American Brewing Association, craft brewers need to meet the following conditions: first, the annual output cannot exceed 6 million barrels (about 70.2 tons); second, the non-craft brewer or company cannot account for more than 25% of the shares; and finally, the flavor of most beer must be obtained from traditional or innovative raw materials and fermentation processes.

"In the national sense, there is no unified standard in this industry, and it is not appropriate to impose some foreign standards in the Chinese market." Fang Gang said. In his view, the core of craft brewing lies in the satisfaction of diversified and individual needs.

Located in Beijing's Shougang Park, "Fragrant Beer Factory" currently offers 15 craft beer styles on sale. The relevant person in charge of "Fragrant Beer Factory" told the International Business Daily reporter that craft beer cannot represent any specific type of product, and its essence is an open, diverse and inclusive beer culture. The production of craft beer is not strictly in accordance with the traditional process, its output is small, the production is flexible, the autonomy is strong, and the integration of tradition and innovation has many innovative beer types and tastes.

"Craft beer is a more high-end beer, which only uses materials such as malt, hops, yeast and water for brewing, without adding any artificial additives, so its malt content will be more, and the brewing process uses high-quality raw materials." The person in charge said.

Niche products have leveraged the big market

As if overnight, community shops, bars, supermarkets, and internet celebrity restaurants can see the figure of craft beer everywhere, and the brand is even more dazzling.

According to the data, since 2014, the domestic beer industry production has begun to decline year after year, as of the end of 2020, the total beer production has fallen by more than 30% compared with the peak in 2013, only about 34 million kiloliters. Surprisingly, in the case of stagnant growth in the total growth of the industrial beer industry, the sales volume of high-end beer has increased by 160%, accounting for 4% of the overall beer market sales and 18% of the profit, of which craft beer as a whole has risen against the trend with a compound annual growth rate of 40%.

The number of enterprises can also reflect the vigorous vitality of the craft brewing industry. According to the data of Tianyancha, the annual registration volume of craft beer-related enterprises in China has increased rapidly in recent years (all enterprise status). In 2019, for the first time, China added more than 1,000 craft beer-related enterprises throughout the year, and the annual registration growth rate reached 98%. In 2020, china will add more than 1,100 related enterprises. As of June 15, China has added more than 600 related enterprises this year, an increase of 24% over last year.

Craft brewing is a small category that has also attracted the attention of beer giants. "Today, all five beer groups are involved in the craft beer industry." Fang Gang said. Budweiser acquired the five-year agency rights of Guinness, a craft brand of Shanghai craft brewing brands Boxing Cat, Goose Island and Diageo, in Chinese mainland 2017; Tsingtao Beer spent 250 million yuan to build a craft beer garden project and launched high-end products in craft brewing categories such as IPA and Classic 1903 Sen; Yanjing Beer launched the "Yanjing Eight Views" craft brewing series of beers in 2019; Carlsberg invested in the craft beer company Beijing A China Resources Beer has acquired a number of high-end beer brands under Heineken through the acquisition of Heineken China business in recent years; Pearl River Beer has laid out craft beer production lines and experience store construction projects, and launched a variety of craft beers such as Pearson and Red Ale.

The market potential of China's craft beer has also attracted the attention of foreign companies. Since opening its first store in Shanghai in 2019, Mikkeller has been steadily advancing. "So far, our focus has been primarily on B2C through our hospitality business. Reception work has always been very hot, and sales are stable. The job now is to sell B2B nationwide through our local distributors. The relevant person in charge of Mei Beer Music said.

The person in charge said bluntly that craft beer has a bright future in China. "Early consumers are the variable, and they should be open-minded and keen to try out new products, whether local or imported. As people's awareness and demand for premium beer continues to increase, the stage for the growth of demand for craft beer is ready. ”

It is not difficult to find that the main consumer group of craft beer at present is young people who love to try new products and pursue individuality. "In the case of the beer shop, the main consumer group is young people, because they want to keep trying and are more receptive to new things. On weekends, you can see groups of young people or couples coming to the beer factory to drink craft beer, taste our steel castles, steel skewers, and feel a different cultural atmosphere in the industrial style specialty restaurant. The head of the beer shop said.

"Our audience is mainly people aged 20 to 35. They are educated, curious, tend to spend more on leisure, and value quality over quantity. The relevant person in charge of Mei Beer Music said.

In the face of the future, what will the competition of craft beer brands show? In this regard, the person in charge of the beer workshop said that the competition point of craft beer is first of all the product itself, followed by the brand on which it relies, and whether the relevant publicity has greater influence and recognition in the market.

"The craft beer market in the future must be full of flowers, diversification and specialization, and this ever-changing characteristic makes it difficult to unify it with a standard." Fang Gang said. (Reporter Qu Xiaoli)

Editor-in-Charge: Miao Chen