Asian challenger brands in the US beer market
Virginia Matthews
In Chinese astrology, 2008 is the Year of the Rat. For those who are watching the stealth invasion of the $93 billion US beer market by Asian brands such as Tsingtao, Kirin, Harbin and Sapporo, it may prove to be the year of the Tiger.
Although the US Beer Institute estimates that imported beers represent only about 15 per cent of the domestic market, foreign brews with annual US growth rates of five per cent or more have outperformed the...