Swiss traditional brewery Appenzeller Bier, known locally for its specialty beers, is looking to enter China market amidst the pandemic.
Established since 1886, Brauerei Locher AG, the company behind Appenzeller Bier, has 6% share of Swiss beer market and is the country’s leading independent brewery.
Aurele Meyer, Managing Director of Brauerei Locher said, “We recognise that China is recovering very quickly, much faster than we do here in Europe, so this is a great opportunity for us that the market is getting better much quicker than here in Switzerland.”
The brewer participated in China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou held from 7-10 May to gain further insights on the huge market.
Appenzeller Bier is brewed with hops, malt and spring water from the Alpstein massif in Switzerland. The brewery also produces unusual ‘innovative’ varieties such as harvest moon beer, oakwood barrel beer or rice beer.
According to Meyer, “We have started with around 6 different types of beers in China and we would love to launch new products as we do also in our home market.”
He added, “We also see a lot of opportunities for our specialties, especially for the non-alcoholic beers, for example, with apple and pear juice from the region or for our ginger beer, which is very well accepted in China. We also see potential in our craft beer, which you cannot find in the international market.”
The brewer is planning to sell both online and in physical stores in China in the future.
The global market for craft beer has an impressive CAGR of 18.9% from 2020 to 2027 with an estimated market size of US$164.8 billion as of 2020, according to Research and Markets.
