Germany & China: HVG active on the Chinese market with a three-year campaign promoting German hops

China is one of the biggest beer markets worldwide and is in constant competition with the US in terms of world rankings. Germany’s HVG Hopfenverwertungsgenossenschaft e.G. recognizes this potential and is currently active on the Chinese market with a three-year information campaign co-financed by the EU, Craft Beer World reported on July 15.

Together with the hop-growing associations from the German growing regions of Tettnang, Elbe-Saale, and Hallertau, as well as the producer cooperative HVG Spalt, the campaign led by HVG Hopfenverwertungsgenossenschaft e.G. explains the merits of European products and particularly the high quality of German hops, and provides information about their labelling.

Demand for hops in China is on the rise: Germany sold more than 1,000 tons of hop pellets to China in 2015 alone. Hops from Germany fulfil important expectations in terms of food safety, quality, and control. Almost 100 percent of German hops fall under the quality regulations of the European Union, such as the protected geographical indication (PGI) or protected designation of origin (PDO). Chinese brewers can now use this clearly identifiable advantage to offer their customers beers with primary flavor ingredients of certified quality and origin that can be transparently and fully traced. The attributes of these hops make all the difference between conventional products and certified European quality products.

From the diverse spectrum of German hop varieties, classic aroma hops are used to produce very mild and fine aromatic beers for the Chinese market. For the emerging craft beer market in China, special flavor hops from Germany deliver intense and exotic taste experiences, which are ideally suited for the production of special and unique beers.

While the first two years of the campaign co-financed by the EU predominantly addressed the decision-makers in the beer industry, the third year of the campaign will focus on consumers too. The campaign primarily targets the metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai, during which brewers and beer lovers will be exposed to the relevant advantages of European products – especially German hops – in a number of different ways. The planned measures include a media campaign with a newly designed logo on the Internet and in periodicals.

21 July, 2016