China & USA: China’s Tsingtao 0.0 Non-Alcoholic Beer becomes available in the US

China’s Tsingtao 0.0 Non-Alcoholic Beer has joined the burgeoning zero-alcohol beer category in the US to broaden the reach of the brand, The Drinks Business reported on April 8.

Imported by Paulaner USA, the non-alcoholic variant of the beer brand is being positioned to complement the popular Tsingtao Premium Lager in a bid to attract more health-conscious consumers due to each bottle containing just 63 calories.

Speaking about the launch, Paulaner USA president and CEO Steve Hauser said: “With the launch of Tsingtao 0.0, we are tapping into consumers who are reaching for non-alcoholic drinks in their bid to lower their caloric intake. Tsingtao 0.0 provides a great tasting experience, and we’re confident that consumers will enjoy it.”

Tsingtao has experienced “tremendous” growth in the US over the past two years, according to Hauser and the 0.0 beer “provides a citrus flavour with slight malty notes at the back end of the taste experience and is perfect for a variety of beer drinking occasions”.

Tsingtao 0.0 has been brewed and fermented with a “gentle alcohol removal and blending process” to create a beer that is “no more than 0.03% ABV”.

Established in 1903, the Tsingtao Brewery has grown to become the sixth largest brewer globally and China’s leading exported beer. In February, Tsingtao signed a joint distribution agreement with LEC Beverages and In Good Company for the UK sale of its beer. Previously managed by C&C Group in the UK, Tsingtao is currently the number one imported Chinese beer brand in the United Kingdom.

Last summer, Tsingtao celebrated its stock rising 24-fold since its debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange nearly 30 years ago, showing growth from a starting point of HK$2.80 per share to reach HK$71.25 per share in 2023, making TsingTao a HK$127.76 billion company.

Despite this success, a few months later Tsingtao’s reputation took a hit when one of its brewery workers was caught urinating into a malt vat, and detained by security services.

In a statement, Tsingtao went to lengths to reassure its consumers that the batch of malt in question had been “completely sealed” and amplified the fact that the business continued to “strengthen its management procedures and ensure product quality” but not before shares fell 7.5% due to the incident.

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