The Japanese brewing force, Asahi Breweries Ltd., announced on September 2 that it will begin marketing a new nonalcoholic beer, Asahi Point One, on November 5, Asia Pulse Pte Ltd. Reported. Nonalcoholic beers that are made in Japan have an alcohol content of 0.1 % to 0.5 %. In response to a survey that indicated that consumers want the alcohol content of such drinks to be as low as possible, Asahi has kept the alcohol content of the new product to below 0.1 %. The suggested retail price is 130 yen (US$1.11) for a 350ml can, and 150 yen for a 334ml bottle. The company aims to sell 150,000 cases before the end of this year. According to Asahi, about 1.86 million cases of nonalcoholic beer were sold domestically in 2002, twice the amount sold in the previous year. The company predicts that 3 million cases will be sold this year.

05 September, 2003