Japan: Three major brewers have bullish forecasts for 2020 sales

Three major Japanese beer makers have shown bullish sales plans for 2020 despite a shrinking market amid a decline in young people's interest in beer products, Nippon.com reported on January 9.

The Japanese market for beer and quasi-beer products is seen to have shrunk for the 15th straight year in 2019, partly in the face of fierce competition with other alcoholic drinks, such as low-priced "chuhai" spirits-based products, and beer demand is expected to continue falling this year.

Meanwhile, sales of so-called third-segment beer-like beverages have been robust as consumers are becoming budget-minded.

Kirin Brewery Co. aims to sell 136.7 million cases this year, up 0.9 pct from the previous year, spending actively on the "Ichiban Shibori" beer and "Honkirin," a third-segment product. Each case contains the equivalent of 20 633-milliliter bottles.

Suntory Beer Ltd. plans to renew its mainstay "Kinmugi" third-segment series this month. Sapporo Breweries Ltd. and industry leader Asahi Breweries Ltd. will launch new third-segment products in February and March, respectively.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .