E-Malt.com News article: 3555

South Korea: Oriental Brewery (OB) has maintained its status as a market leader for the past 52 years,. Today, the domestic brewer stands as Korea’s second-largest beer producer after Hite, also a homegrown brand, Korea Herald posted on October 29, 2004. Controlled by Interbrew, Oriental Brewery, produces four of Korea’s best-selling beer brands: OB, Cass, Cafri and Budweiser.

OB and Hite together dominate the 3.2 trillion-won (2003 figure) Korean beer market. Hite, however, controls more than 50 percent of the sales, while foreign brands take up a small percentage. Part of OB’s growth includes its acquisition of another beer brand, Cass, in 1999. Struggling from the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, OB was taken over by Belgian brewing giant Interbrew.

Now under the stewardship of the industry leader, OB operates plants in Icheon, Gwangju and Cheongwon. All three automated locales produce four brands of beer: OB, Cass, Cafri and Budweiser. In total, the factories churn out 1.3 million kiloliters of suds. The Icheon brewery in Gyeonggi Province was completed in 1976 and brews OB, Cafri, OB Sound and OB Light.

Since its establishment, the brewery has played a vital role in promoting the growth of not only the local beer market but also the local economy. It also has won recognition for its outstanding contribution to environmental conservation eight years in a row. With state-of-the-art technology set up in each facility, OB’s high-quality beer also has earned recognition abroad, accounting for 70 percent of Korea’s beer export market.

The beer company exports to various countries in Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Oceania. The destinations include Mongolia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the United States, Canada, Saipan, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Germany. In Hong Kong, OB ranks as the No. 3 brand.

At home, the company has earned the loyalty of the 20-something crowd with its Cass brand and strengthened its market position. It owes its success to the “Cass Q-Pack,” a 1.6-liter plastic bottle of beer. The OB brand is also sold in a Q-Pack. The company notes that the packaging is unique in that it is a monolayer bottle serving to prevent oxidation and loss of carbon dioxide.


30 October, 2004