The “smoke of gunpowder” in the beer market is rising again. The competitors in the high-end beer market are no longer satisfied with small price increases or high-end new products, but directly focus on the ultra-high-end market.
many beer enterprises promote ultra-high-end new products and explore the price band of 1000 yuan
On January 9, Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) “Legend of the first world” super high-end new product was released in the Centennial wine cellar of Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) Centennial factory. The reporter of Beijing News learned from the e-commerce platform that the price of the new product is 1189 yuan / bottle, and the capacity of each bottle is 1.5L. This is another super high-end product released by Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) after the “Centennial journey”. In July 2020, Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) released the new art brewing product of “Centennial journey”. The reporter noticed at the official flagship store of Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) Jingdong Mall that the current price of this product is 378 yuan. Before that, there were few high-end beer products with more than 100 yuan in China. In the view of the industry, Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) This product raised the ceiling of Chinese beer to a higher level, and it is also a symbolic action in response to the upgrading of high-end and scene consumption. More than a year later, Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) pushed the product at the price of 1000 yuan, raising the ceiling of the beer market to a higher level.
The reporter noted that in addition to Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) , the super high-end beer camp also includes China Resources snowflake and Budweiser.
Fang Gang, a beer marketing expert, told the Beijing news that seizing the high-end beer market is not a matter for a beer enterprise, but the consensus of the whole industry. The beer industry has entered the development stage of “falling volume and rising price”. From the past “sales first” to the present “high-end products”, it has become an industry consensus. According to the data disclosed by China Wine Association in 2021, the market share of China Resources snowflake, Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) , Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co.Ltd(000729) , Budweiser and Carlsberg has reached 92%, and the high-end beer market is favored by major beer enterprises.
In May 2021, China Resources snowflake launched a high-end series of beer “Li”, priced at 999 yuan / box (2 bottles in a box, 999ml / bottle), that is, the price of a single bottle is nearly 500 yuan. Not only that, Budweiser also launched the Budweiser master legendary tiger year limited edition, which is 1583 yuan / bottle and has a capacity of 798ml.
the “culture” strategy behind beer
In recent years, Baijiu brand has generally mentioned the importance of cultural strategy. Beer brands also see the influence of “culture” on brands.
According to the introduction of Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) , Legend I was named “legend” precisely because its products jumped out of the “barrier” of traditional beer and integrated the advantages of several major liquor categories. It has made a breakthrough in beer flavor richness again. At the same time, it has also broken through the limit of alcohol content and storage time of whole wheat brewing lager beer, and completed the leap from product experience to spiritual enjoyment, Inherit the ingenuity of ancient and modern China and foreign countries, Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) create super high-end beer that subverts traditional cognition in inheritance and innovation.
“The most important opportunity for China Resources snowflake to brew \’Li\’ is to use \’Li\’ to \’pay tribute to China’s Millennium brewing culture\'”, Hou Xiaohai, CEO of China Resources snowflake beer, said at the listing tasting meeting of “Li” in May 2021. It is reported that in terms of raw materials, “Li” adopts the combination of high flavor malt, burnt flavor malt, crystalline malt and low dissolution basic malt, focusing on the malt style, and the auxiliary materials are organic millet, job’s tears and Lanzhou lily. The bottle body design of “Li” is inspired by the “double ear salamander pattern bottle” in Yangshao culture of the Neolithic age. The surface is engraved with beautiful water patterns, folds and other patterns, and the gift box of “Li” is matched with a special wine cup.
Budweiser master’s legendary year of the tiger limited edition is sponsored by George F, honorary Knight of the global brewing Association. The fifth generation Brewing Master of Reisch family supervises brewing. Budweiser introduced that it broke through the previous brewing process and formula tradition, constantly polished the details and made the fine brewing further.
Quality assurance, cultural endorsement and limited sale are the common labels of these ultra-high-end beers. “Li” will be limited to 40000 sets in 2021, and the limited edition of Budweiser master’s legendary year of the tiger will be limited to 2400 bottles. The reporter noted that these high-end new products are often packed in gift boxes. Some people believe that this is to meet the needs of consumers for high-end gifts and business banquets.
It is worth noting that the degree of these ultra-high-end new products is generally high. Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited(600600) “Legend of the first world”, the original wort concentration is 23.9 ° P, alcohol degree ≥ 10.5% vol, “Li” original wort concentration is 18.8 ° P, alcohol degree ≥ 8% vol, and the original wort concentration of Budweiser master legend tiger limited edition is 18 ° P, alcohol degree ≥ 10.8% Vol. It can be seen that the alcohol level of these new products is higher than that of common beer products on the market.
is it a “tuyere” or a gimmick?
Some analysts believe that domestic beer has made great efforts in the high-end market, which is mainly reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, shrinking the proportion of low-end beer from “share priority” to “profit priority”; on the other hand, consumers\’ demand for high-quality products has increased, and the products have been upgraded iteratively or directly promoted to expand the high-end market.
In August 2021, the China Wine Industry Association has defined the “no speed per hour” development path of the beer industry in the guiding opinions on the development of the industry during the 14th five year plan, accelerated the development process of high-end beer, encouraged the personalized and diversified development of products, and spread China’s beer culture.
He Yong, Secretary General of China Wine Association and chairman of beer branch, said in public a few days ago, “2021 is the first year of high-end beer in China. It is not only the high-end beer brewing technology, but also the high-end consumption trend in the new era.”
In the view of insiders, the strategic significance of beer brands to launch ultra-high-end products is greater than the actual sales performance. Many consumers say that the consumption situation of ultra high end beer is deficient. The main business occasions are mainly baijiu. The main consumers of beer are young people. It is difficult for them to have such a high level of consumption. They are used for gifts and collections, and their shelf-life is relatively short. Therefore, although the introduction of ultra-high-end beer has effectively expanded the ceiling of the beer market to a higher level, there is still a long way to go from the specific market competitiveness.
