Why Breaking Into the Chinese Beer Market Is Almost Impossible | WSJ

As global beer sales have stalled, major brewers such as AB InBev and Carlsberg are flocking to China. WSJ's Steven Russolillo in Hong Kong tests their strategies, sipping the beers specially crafted to win over Chinese drinkers.
Image composite: Sharon Shi. Video: Clément Bürge
#WSJ #beer

[@EddieG702]

American beer is enormously overpriced.

[@brandon4391]

I can’t imagine a corona if they even have it

[@munenex]

Enormously taxed.

[@brendencampbell3082]

TRASH JUICE

[@ReasonableRadio]

You should try buying a beer in canada lol A typical bar is $5 a bottle and $8 a pint

[@campkira]

u don't paid for the beer....

[@yangmingchong4552]

By interviewing several non-Chinese guys, WSJ tries to deeply understand the Chinese consumer market. Good job WSJ.

[@swillmerchant9886]

i reckon they are trying to get the view of a relatively successful non local beer brewers, it's all about foreign brands making inroads in Chinese beer market.

[@letsrelaxwithtexts2114]

all these beer have hops?

[@nsebast]

At least they went there to interview. Some reports call in China experts who have been there twice lol.

[@NazriB]

Lies again? AMWF Car Higher Chinese

[@dmcg7900]

In Hong Kong, lol

[@chocoball604]

This video is supposed to be about the China beer market....yet everyone's in Hong Kong which is an entirely separate market dynamic. Why didn't they interview InBev China or Tsingtao, or even some of the craft breweries in Shenzhen or Shanghai???

[@DoughBoy45]

CCP has representatives eeeeeeeeeverywhere

[@dxelson]

I tell you why, he's a journalist. Probably got his visa denied. It happens more often than you think.

[@ThaOriginalGangsta77]

Joseph Lo we don’t like commies

[@chocoball604]

@@ThaOriginalGangsta77 Well then don't put "China" in the title....make it "Why Hong Kong Beer Companies Find It Almost Impossible to Break into China" or something....

[@CuongNguyen-le5ic]

If you talk about China's beer market, then also talk about FAKE and POISONOUS Beer as well. Even Fake Wines also run rampage in China that could kill you if you are not careful.

[@swainsunilkumar9968]

An American is taking advice from an indian (who is apparently a brewer in hong kong) for the chinese. Can't there be more globalisation loll

[@singularity-6339]

Almost everything is very very competitive in China not just beer.

[@JohnnyHoO111]

"Bad money drives out good" kind of competitive

[@felixvikes28]

You sure u didn't mean counterfeit

[@gofy9990]

@@felixvikes28 Check your phone and keyboard before comment.

[@gofy9990]

@@JohnnyHoO111 So the good has no money?

[@felixvikes28]

@@gofy9990 lol u make me laugh u comie POS everything you guys do a copy from The USA 😀

[@StanMzmr]

In China almost every major city has their own beer brand, local people are very loyal to their local beer as part of their life and culture.

[@xcofcd]

It's very similar here in Germany. But if some outsider comes in with a much cheaper pricepoint at least some people will change brands... So these american companies should try to make a decent product for a low price instead they're throwing millions in marketing at it to make Chinese customers buy their junk beer for a high price point...

[@lixzx007]

@@xcofcd but local beer is so cheap the forgin brand is never going to beat

[@lixzx007]

@@xcofcd and even the forginer some how managed beat the price point the local beer is always consider to be much fresher.

[@蔡祥祥-l1o]

Not totally true.I’m from China.As long as the quality of products is good with nice price no matter where it is made from,it could be winner in Chinese consumers market.

[@frankun8755]

@@xcofcd can you sell half a dollar for a bottle of beer? It's not so possible to cheap beer cheaper than the local one in China

[@candyapu3]

"i CoUlD dRiNk ThIs aFtEr rUnNiNg a MaRaThoN"

[@kienwarren2870]

candyapu3 this is what i came to the comments for lol

[@benevolentdictator8947]

I mean what kind of vibe is he trying to give?

[@haodev]

the cringe hit me so hard I had to turn away from the screen

[@seangreen9633]

Put a “supreme” logo on it.

[@mrGAMEINFORMATION]

@@sirkeg1 no supreme was right lol

[@iharrison5031]

F**K it we'll do it live! r/whoosh

[@bennetttan8535]

$150 a can now

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

What they mean by "Global Brands" is American brands, really.

[@ericktellez7632]

You are right, but believe it or not, Mexico is the largest exporter of beer.

[@eddfasd]

As cheap as water ?, So how come a beer like Budweiser, which taste like water, be so expensive. ?

[@dragondescendant1]

Taxes

[@singloc3021]

The video tells you, foreign beer is desired as it is projected to be of better quality. Americans are no different back in the old days as if it came from Germany, it must be good. We are luck for the rise of microbreweries. In my mind, America now has the best beers in the world

[@dragondescendant1]

@@singloc3021 most American drink foreign beer, Corona, Heineken.......even Budweiser is no longer an American company.

[@singloc3021]

Budweiser is owned by InBev and what I'm saying is back in the day, if it's foreign, it has to be good

[@DeutschlandGuy]

What a silly question. Economics 101 says you charge the price that the market will bear. Case in point, Apple charges ridiculously high prices for inferior phones and gets by with it simply because people are stupid enough to pay the price. It is no big mystery.

[@yoparsons80]

"China drinks nearly twice as much beer as the US." US= 327 Million people China= 1.3 Billion people

[@tomlin9539]

Finally we arrived at the era that we drink for journalism.

[@JustABoringAsianGuy]

I am from Guangdong Province, my favorite beer used to be TsingTao. Now I drink Feldschlösschen mostly, a German brand survived the DDR era and managed to get inside Chinese market. Other times I drink Blue Ribbon.

[@johngalt3940]

Blue ribbon is great I wish they sold it in Shanghai.

[@robspunk]

This story has nothing to do with China. This story has nothing to do with what's happening here. He's only in HK and he's exclusively talking about the HK market.

[@drewberry8945]

tsingtao is actually pretty nice. They sell them in Wetherspoon's in the UK. I often get alongside other 5% beers.

[@derhirsl2458]

The Tsingtao that you get in Europe is made by Heineken and has no similarities to the original Chinese one

[@hautakleightontam771]

My two cents; I don't think you can make much headway into the Chinese market with pedestrian beer since big local companies like Tsingtao will always outcompete you in terms of cost and brand familiarity. It doesn't help that most macro-lagers taste far too similar. Instead, why not go the opposite route and generate buzz with a super-premium beer, made with high-quality ingredients and marketed like fine wine? Many mainland consumers enjoy buying foreign alcohol brands for their perceived quality/exoticism and as a status symbol. If you can make a product that taps into those same impulses and compliments Chinese cuisine (e.g. a Sichuan pepper-infused DIPA), you could create a niche in the market populated by new, young enthusiasts looking for an alternative to the usual brandies, whiskies, wines and white-spirits for special occasions.

[@qgm694]

Dang. I was really wanting to break into the Chinese beer market

[@xcofcd]

Gotta know exactly what you're doing in Asia. I know of a smaller german brewery that started slowly selling to Asia. One day they had a problem with the printers that print the best by date on the bottom of the can and some cans had weird overlaying prints. They thought not much of it and send two containers there. Unfortunately that Asian country had very very strict regulations due to a lot of fraud and mislabeling food products going on there. They basically said the brewery just printed a new best by date on some old cans that arrived their first best by date. Something nobody would even think of doing in germany. In the end of the day all two containers needed to be destroyed and they were heavily fined. The entire thing cost around a half million US$...

[@mrshangpa]

1. Make them good and cheap 2. Play friendly and locally 3. Ask your government and NGO's to stop lame and insidious attacks to the Chinese people. Beers are emotional.

[@jaydaksy4094]

Yeah where their employees urinate in the beer

[@jonsmith5626]

Never heard of "young masters" in Beijing, I'm really surprised they didn't interview people in Shanghai, Shenzhen or Beijing.

[@CuongNguyen-le5ic]

Too many visa, permits and strict monitor in China for journalist. Not to mention he could be on blocked list to enter China.

[@daggern00b]

30 cents a can? Guess I'm packing my bags guys...

[@duddledeedo]

Not in HK you won't find any (where he is in the video).

[@michaelw7722]

In germany the cheap beer cans 0,5liter cost 29cent

[@azzy90]

Slovakia beer.

[@vikramdas6645]

Average beer bottle costs 120 rupees in India That's like 2 dollars Too much taxes

[@CSLucasEpic]

Something similar happens in Argentina with ice cream. It is a large ice cream market with lots of brands abd competitirs. But international giants have trouble getting in the market.

[@Taurineg]

Why would you film a short about beer in China in Hong Kong? I mean, literally listen to that guy's accent.

[@Larry777-v7x]

you must be one of those idiots who think HK is not part of China

[@Taurineg]

Larry Liu Yes let's film a video about China in Taiwan while we're at it

[@dxelson]

@@Larry777-v7x Hong Kong is part of China, but it doesn't even remotely resemble chinese consumers habits. It's a SAR for a reason.

[@defyiant]

Tsingtao is my favorite beer. All the way here in California.

[@AllenHanPR]

5:07 As an Asian we do not talk our parents like that. We certainly do not celebrate over beer. It is likely we drink whiskey or Chinese wine.

[@donkeykong516]

Budweiser tried for years, but beer is just a notch above water for the Chinese market.

[@DoubleUp9999]

When it comes to beer wine and spirits, it comes down to price like everything else.

[@vencytalks5952]

That pineapple beer is basically my childhood 🍍🍻

[@theotherside931]

*Beers in Nigeria sell for $0.55 on the average. The most expensive ones like Stout, Heineken, Legend etc sell for $0.83. And there are new ones that came out that sell for $0.41. So you can see, none sells for even a dollar. Try that here and get ready to consume all you brewed yourself.*

[@SongdoSilver]

I'll be moving to Shenzhen very soon. I'll be reporting on the craft beer scene in Shenzhen and beyond! :)

[@lukasoitzl133]

It's amazing to be honest. Not cheap but worth it. My favourites were ET brewery and Bionic brew. Have a look when you're there.

[@AwesumBear]

This is very interesting, because, from my experience, Chinese people see foreign products as superior and high-end even, and are willing to pay a premium for them. It's mentioned in the video at 4:30 and 5:00 but seems to be contrary to what the title is suggesting.

[@jyashin]

Only if the product in question is a status symbol. So cars, watches, sure. See is hardly a status symbol.

[@scottbreon9448]

Every time Americans talk about good beer, a German Shepherd dies

[@fortunatowenceslao1055]

Make it plain water and market it as beer with water taste for 0.10 cent per can. That would work in China.

[@NOWHERESQ]

How is Bluegirl not mentioned? Young master is not everyone's fav. The variety of flavours are no more than novelity and generally unfocused. Gweilo beer is one of the best available craft beer in hk that is also not mentioned. As per the InBev IPO withdrawal, there were lots of discussions about the lack of sufficient leverage available for the IPO that led to the insufficient interests. Once it is apparent that a quick turnaround profit is quite risky, investors got cold feet. Maybe there's fundamental concerns about the business model but it's certainly not the whole story.

[@xionglin2009]

i think the actual reason is: beer is beer, people just need grain tasting bubbly drink with alcohol to go with conversation, why pay 10 times the money for a foreign brand while the local ones do the job?

[@coconuts5500]

***germany has entered the chat***

[@supergrinder8085]

Great video. Although the middle class is growing, along with its interest in leisure and craft beers, the majority of beer consumption comes from the large percentage of lower income who have grown up with the affordable local produce. It is good to note that craft brands like boxing cat and goose have sprung up with attention in the previous years, but the market segmentation between leisure and mass beers should not be changing a lot. The undisputed giants mainly yanjing, tsingtao, snow and harbin will continue to dominate in coming years.

[@billbrogan4933]

Oh by the way, I run marathons.

[@AnomalousAppendages]

"Oh I would totally drink this after finishing a full ironman"

[@faridelfadani5404]

No no no , Corona sell because of vin diesel

[@xlyoutube]

Most beers in China are pale lagers which aren't my cup of t..beer. Last year in Beijing I was pleasantly surprised many of the local brands also introduced wheat / ale styles although still not as dark as I want them to be but nonetheless a great step towards beer diversity. I think I tried a Yanjing or Harbin Dunkel too, not bad. Beer is and has always been the "people's drink" in China. Unless the western beer brands can compete at the same price range, I don't see they otherwise have much edge in this especially now that local brands are diversifying their styles.

[@santibouphavong]

Wish my beer was 30 cents a can

[@aimeebrown7647]

Stark Banner man you earn 7 times more than an avg Chinese

[@lafkdjay]

They've upsold coffee. Now they trying to upsell beer.

[@DGLuxton]

This was a nice reminder of the rivers of cheap beer I drank while living in China. I tried the Pineapple Beer in - only because it was literally about 3 cents a can. The Wind Flower Snow Moon was a highlight when I was in Yunnan. But there are also now microbreweries popping up everywhere on the Mainland, not just in Hong Kong.

[@tonyzhu1687]

@Green Earth That's definitely a typo, its thirty US cents

[@Athrunwong]

You can sell German, Belgium beers, there is always demand for high end beer. But many of them just doesn’t worth it.

[@Lululemon2023]

Making better-tasting beer would a good starting point, like American chocolate bars and candies, calling US beers awful-tasting is a generous tribute.

[@jamiebehun1743]

@Wall Street Journal could you please make a video about Why Breaking Into the Indian Beer Market Is Almost Impossible | WSJ

[@pederskram4376]

Chinese beers are actually tasty. I live in Denmark and we have here Carlsberg, Tuborg, Royal and Thor, among other local beers. Average price is 60 Cents a can. Most Danes prefer local beers. Carlsberg also brew foreign beers under license but generally, we drink local stuff because it's among the best there is, or so we think. Matter of taste.

[@abh15funk]

I have been curious for a long time to try TsingTao. Have tried Wusu and Blanc and Budweiser and Carlsberg amongst the ones shown here.

[@kotimoto]

Let me get this right, 1. So Chinese are happy drinking local cheap beer. 2. The America's are unhappy, because they don't like that the locals like cheap beer.

[@arbit3r]

I don't think you understand

[@kotimoto]

@@arbit3r care to explain?

[@zeccy337]

You're right. Americans hate that they don't get a cut of this gigantic market.

[@dixonkee]

Learnt more about the topics from the comment section than the actual video itself

[@weiskl887]

No one monopolizes everybody win some. Great and healthy market.

[@sibaraku2023]

almost every province even every city got its own beer which people have been drinking for years. there is not even a chance for a foreign brand.

[@myHuge249]

imagine someone from carlsberg talking about knowing what to drink

[@Dumb-Comment]

No wonder why the cardboard boxes for beers always get moldy, they don't clean the can after the cans are being filled and splatters everywhere

[@lafilemea9279]

I clicked bc i thought the title said: "Why breaking into the Chinese beef market is almost impossible".

[@laratao5720]

I think the Pineapple Beer you got there is the non-alcohol one, it is just like the ginger beer. There is another alcohol version of the pineapple beer but I seldom see it.

[@338684q]

Orange County 1 California

[@luhaizhou]

In mainland China, almost only lager. To most mainland people, lager=beer, do they don’t even know the name “lager” or “IPA” or “weiss beer”. Other types of beer take a very small portion of market, though you can find them in some bars dedicated to craft beers. In most supermarkets in Hong Kong, there are more choices. I think in the future, Chinese people will get to know all types of beer. Think about that huge market. Good for everyone.

[@edr.2642]

I live in Canada and I like more Asian beers like Sapporo are way better than main stream North American beers.

[@IAMDIMITRI]

OMG Carlsberg is amazing at marketing.

[@CulllegLee]

Most of the beer made in China are of low standard, too much CO2 inflated and poor flavor. It's more like drinking water. However, there are some local breweies that provide fresh beer to residents around, but this kind of beer is limited to only them for the sake of being hard to preserve. That is the beer which can be called authentic.

[@OjojoHK]

This is some lazy reporting. Did you not receive filming permit from Mainland China, so you just stayed in Hong Kong and made blanket statements about market trends in China - when they are in fact trends in Hong Kong? Two markets with very different consumer demands and needs.

[@maryellenw]

Pineapple-flavoured beer sounds great! My Kirkland Signature tropical-flavoured yogurt is delicious (pineapple and mango), so maybe pineapple is the new thing!

[@joachimpetersen2301]

Why am I watching this. Now I really want a beer.

[@divyanshdwivedi9751]

He was taking to a guy in Hong Kong did that guy was indian👍👍

[@evilpimp2475]

I usually drink Budweiser and Lone Star beer but chinese beer is really good, i buy it once in a while.

[@quangquybaole8297]

Anyone still come here because of Coursera's leading (the course Strategy Formulation of the Copenhagen Business School) :D

[@prashantbohara1684]

I assume that most of Chinese prefer Corona, Heineken, Budweiser and some German beers but still these brands can't take over Tsingtao . And I like Anchor the most.

[@honghaowu3747]

Tsingtao beer was founded in which was a German colony by a British company though.

[@toffguy3297]

No more Chinmese Beer. Pi pi pi pi .. who will drink ?

[@hiyukelavie2396]

Aka how to make the Chinese overpay for beer by branding

[@smartbaba1321]

1:58 he is Indian. Lovely .😘

[@VarunKumar-qd5wl]

There's an Indian working in China beer company!

[@AkshanshV]

He was the founder, dude.

[@evilpimp2475]

China is right next to India... That's soooo weird....

[@ILovePancakes24]

I would never ever ever let a chinese beer touch my mouth. With an imported beer, from America or Mexico, you know its a sign of quality and safety. Chinese beer is stale dishwater fermented in the beijun sun.

[@Gnorthernier9444]

As a Mexican I'm proud to here that our beer, Corona, has been popular in China growing 25 folds. Chinese are becoming little by little Mexicans!!!🇲🇽

[@rogelioperez3150]

Its almost all the same Jorge

[@JK-gu3tl]

Tsingtao was founded by Germans, though.

[@Zergcerebrates]

That’s why it’s so good.

[@JK-gu3tl]

@Morahman7vnNo2 Ben Franklin hated Germans.

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

Morahman7vnNo2 that’s why German style lager is everywhere

[@一二一踏死蚂蚂蚁]

no wonder why the wusu beer is always more expensive... i thought it was because xinjiang is expensive but no its carlsberg thats right even their "low price" beer is not that cheap

[@johnclark3108]

Hold my greatest kingfisher beer 🍺

[@mrjmisme]

Wrong title! You're filming in Hongkong not China 😂 Get your facts right.

[@LarbiDiGooner]

Honestly, Harbin tastes so bad yet the majority of Chinese consume it especially in the northeast part of China.

[@nathyrulz]

This is like when you known a person for a really long time but when you have a fight you call them a name similar to there’s just to annoy them. At the start of the video it says “HONG KONG” yet 10 seconds in the reporter calls it “CHINA” 😂. HK NOT CHINA

[@manchesterunitedno7]

Try breaking into a notoriously difficult foreign market with a Bud? Come on, who are we kidding here?

[@PureVikingPowers]

Tsingtao was made by Germans when Germany had a colony in China

[@kingkong4737]

*laughs in German*

[@RobertMode1998]

I like Tsing Tao beer.

[@tnnsboy18]

Send some four loko's over there HAHA

[@chineselovefreedom]

Western beers are much more expensive than Chinese beers. That's for sure.

[@Glorious_Kim_Jong_Un]

*Why is breaking into China with ANY industry so difficult yet so easy when they come to our countries...*

[@Vampybattie]

Cause it cheaper

[@edyhiun9468]

China said hold my beer

[@rsv4rf978]

30 cents for a can is awesome

[@calibomber209]

Here in Cali I enjoy 20$ 4pk of ipa.

[@Chironex_Fleckeri]

Gay idiot

[@FromADifferentPerspective821]

Let the Chinese drink their own beer and make your own.

[@moneymaken9232]

Hmm, that end bit sounds exactly like capitalism. You mean an open market can provide greater diversity and lower prices!?!

[@Lululemon2023]

Trump just called the massively popular China video app Tictok a US national security, so Beijing should label American beer as Chinese national security. fitting reciprocity.

[@blackjacka.5097]

Funny how that guys says people are used to drinking beer as cheap as water. Germany literally has beer cheaper than water so I don't see the issue

[@zrlabels]

Just print your own brand labels for the target market.

[@3nien]

Boycott foreign beers in China. 5000 % Tariff

[@aukaming2011]

3nien on9 boy

[@lixzx007]

or ask Vietnam kidnap budwiser CEO's daughter

[@kantiao6006]

I use to drink nanchang beer... It's local beer... Cheap and taste okay