Feb 20, 2024
Total sales of Asahi Super Dry beer soared by 35% in 2023 as the brand’s global expansion plans pay off.
The latest results from Asahi Group Holdings show that the company’s flagship beer Asahi Super Dry shot up by 35% in major Asian markets (outside the beer’s home market of Japan), as well as in Europe and Oceania, between 2022 and 2023.
The beer, which Asahi calls the “top priority” of its global brand portfolio has grown significantly in volume terms as a result of the company’s ambitious expansion plans.
Sales of Asahi Super Dry received a boost when it became the Official Beer of the Rugby World Cup 2023, held in France last September, with company president Atsushi Katsuki saying at the time that he hoped the opportunity would “showcase the brand’s value to consumers worldwide”.
The beer, which replaced previous beer sponsor Heineken, featured on billboards and digital media at world cup games, alongside point-of-sale promotions and ticket competitions.
Total European volume sales of all Asahi products (including Asahi Super Dry) leapt by 20% between 2022 and 2023 to ¥688.7 billion (approximately £3.6 billion).
In the Oceania market (largely Australia and New Zealand), volume sales of Asahi products grew by 11.8%, bringing its total to ¥652 billion (£3.4 billion).
Further globalisation
And the beer’s unstoppable march looks set to continue this year.
As the drinks business reported, Asahi plans to start brewing Asahi Super Dry in the US in 2024. The Wisconsin-based Octopi Brewing has been appointed to produce the Japanese beer stateside.
Asahi has also revealed that it plans to grow its China business this year through focusing on e-commerce, which Asahi Beer Asia managing director Kinyi Choo called “a critical but also a very challenging channel”.
Katsuki said the company’s full year results for 2023 “exceeded our financial targets, yielding a robust performance,” and added that in 2024, Asahi Group Holdings will begin a “transition towards our new phase of growth, with a focus on further globalization.”
He announced in a statement that his goal for the company is to “maximise corporate value beyond the sum of our regional businesses”, and hinted that he will do so through “strengthening group governance, including the initiation of Asahi Global Procurement and the transformation of our management structure.”
Asahi Global Procurement refers to a newly established company which integrates the Asahi Group’s global, regional, and local procurement functions.
Total revenue for Asahi Group Holdings grew +6.8% year on year in 2023, and core operating profit grew +3.9%, ahead of the company’s growth forecast of 3.2%.
Asahi now predicts that its revenue for the financial year 2024 will grow by a further +3.6% YoY, while its core operating profit is projected to see a boost of +4.2%. Source: The Drinks Business, Sarah Neish
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