E-Malt.com News article: China & Hong Kong: China’s Henan Kingstar Brewery files for IPO on Hong Kong Stock Exchange

China’s Henan Kingstar Brewery Co. Ltd has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, potentially bringing the city its first new beer listing since 2019 when Budweiser Brewing Co. APAC was listed. For Kingstar, a successful IPO would cap a dramatic operational turnaround driven largely by its aggressive pivot into craft beer, at a time when China’s broader beer market has plateaued, Asia Brewers Network reported.

Founded in 1982, Henan Kingstar Brewery built its business as a regional brewer in Henan province, relying on local distribution strength and cost efficiency rather than premium branding. Like many provincial brewers, it faced mounting pressure as China’s beer industry consolidated around a small number of national champions. With volume growth flattening across the sector, management was forced to rethink its product strategy and refocused on the fast-growing craft beer sector.

According to third-party data cited in Kingstar’s listing document, the country’s craft beer market expanded from approximately CNY12 billion (US$1.72 billion) in 2019 to CNY63 billion in 2024, representing compound annual growth of more than 35%. Kingstar has been successful in taking advantage of that demand surge by launching numerous craft beer lines in recent years.

In August 2024, the company launched its first Chinese-style craft beer, Kingstar Maojian, blending beer brewing with Chinese tea culture. It rapidly followed with jasmine tea, hawthorn candy and mandarin orange variants, positioning its portfolio around familiar local flavours designed to reduce bitterness and enhance smoothness. This approach has broadened appeal among younger consumers, female drinkers and more casual beer drinkers, while differentiating the brand in an increasingly crowded premium landscape.

By the end of September 2025, Kingstar had developed a portfolio of 50 Chinese-style craft beer products, supported by a faster launch cadence and more agile marketing. The financial impact has been striking. Revenue rose 105% year-on-year to roughly CNY730 million in 2024 and climbed to CNY1.11 billion in the first nine months of 2025, nearly triple the comparable period a year earlier.

Craft beer has been a massive growth engine for the company. From generating no revenue in 2023, craft products contributed CNY377 million in 2024, accounting for about half of total turnover. In the first nine months of 2025, craft beer revenue surged to CNY867 million, representing more than 78% of total sales. Gross margins expanded sharply as a result, rising from 27.3% in 2023 to 47% by September 2025, reflecting premium pricing and improved product mix.

However, the strategy to go public is not without risk. Craft beer’s shorter product lifecycles require constant innovation and marketing spend, while higher inventory levels expose the business to write-downs if demand slows. Competition is also intensifying as the big national brewers accelerate their own premium and craft launches.

For investors and other craft breweries, Kingstar’s IPO will provide a test case for whether a regionally rooted Chinese craft brewer can build a large, sustainable, high-margin business focused on craft beer.


23 January, 2026