China: Tsingtao remains China’s most valuable beer brand by value in 2017

Tsingtao Beer’s brand value is estimated at US$1.213 bln this year, which represents a 16% decline versus 2016 but still makes it China’s most valuable beer brand, the latest BrandZ report by MillwardBrown says.

In the ranking of China’s top 100 brands by value, Tsingtao is ranked 51st.

Founded by German and British settlers in 1903, and one of China’s oldest beer brands, Tsingtao is an authentic Chinese beer, only ever brewed in the sea port of Qingdao, in North Eastern China. Unlike many exported beers, Tsingtao is not brewed under license so every bottle is brewed in China to the same traditional recipe. Today, Tsingtao Beer China has a total of 69 breweries all over China; the brand is exported to more than 90 countries.

Tsingtao’s competitor, Harbin Beer, is ranked 52nd with brand value estimated at US$1.203 bln (+19% yoy).

Founded by a Russian businessman in 1900, the Harbin Brewery was one of the first beer companies in China. After the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, Harbin became one of the beer giants in North Eastern China. In 2004, Harbin Brewery was bought by Anheuser-Busch. A light beer, it is only 3.3% alcohol by volume. Today, the product is exported to over 30 major countries.

Snow Beer, owned by China’s leading brewer China Resources Beer Holdings, is ranked 56th, with a brand value of US$1.111 bln this year. The brand’s value is up 11% versus 2016.

CR Snow first began brewing Snow Beer in 1994. Today, it is the world’s best-selling beer with about 18 billion pints produced each year. Until recently, the Snow Beer product range was brewed under a joint venture between China Resources Beer Enterprise Ltd, an SOE (State Owned Enterprise), and SABMiller. However, in March 2016, Anheuser-Busch InBev agreed to sell SABMiller’s stake in China’s Snow Breweries back to the SOE for $1.6 billion.

Yanjing Beer is ranked 82nd, with brand value down 13% yoy to US$380 mln.

One of China’s largest beer brands, Yanjing Beer was named for the ancient capital that occupied the area now known as Beijing. It is brewed using natural mineral water from the Beijing YanShan
Mountain. The brand leads the market in Beijing and is strong in Guangxi and Hunan provinces and Inner Mongolia. It has been the official sponsor of Team China, the Chinese National football team, since 2011.

China’s 91st brand by value, Pearl River is a lager brewed by the Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery (Zhujiang means ‘Pearl River’). The brewery was established in 1985 and from 2002 began collaborating with Interbrew SA (as it was then). In 2016, the Zhujiang Brewery established a fully automated warehouse system for storage and distribution. This has significantly increased efficiency and cut operational costs. Every bottle or can of beer has a bar code which is logged across the supply chain from production to sales channel. The data generated is being used for customer insight, further strengthening their competitive edge. The brand’s value is down 6% to US$273 mln this year.

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