E-Malt.com News article: 2476

Korean beer sales rose last month mainly due to the growing popularity of plastic-bottled beers, brewers said on April 11. According to industry sources, the sales of the two major brewers, Hite Co. Ltd. and Oriental Brewery Co. Ltd., rose 9 % in March from the same month last year to 303.22 million 0.5 l bottles. Brewers here attribute this increase to the rising popularity of plastic-bottled beer, which is hailed for its lower price and lighter weight than glass-bottled products, Korea Herald posted on April 12.

"When buying bundles of beers, more and more consumers here opt for plastic bottle products. They are cheaper and definitely easier to carry," a Hite official said. "Given that summer is beer's high season, we are optimistic about further sales increase."

Since their launch last November, plastic-bottled beers have continued on a steady upward sales trend here, industry sources say. Sales of plastic-bottled products, measured in 1.6 l bottles, surged nearly five-fold in February to 10.92 million units from 2.88 million units last November, according to the sources. Subsequently, their share of total beer sales also jumped in the month to 14.5 % from 2.9 % when first introduced.

"We are operating our production lines at their full capacities but still cannot meet the surging demand. The boom for plastic-bottled beers is indeed surprising," an Oriental Brewery official said.

Local brewers are quickly responding to the growing popularity. Hite has designated its plastic-bottled products "Hite Pitcher" and "Pitcher Prime" as major items for its marketing strategy. Oriental Brewery will "significantly" increase production capacity for its plastic-bottled beers to meet the rising demand, according to the company official.


13 April, 2004