Bali-based Stark Craft Beer has revealed how it is differentiating its marketing strategy between regions, while cautioning that the fledgling Indonesia market is not yet ready for excessive flavour innovation.
The creation of alcoholic beverages with a focus on refreshing or fruity flavours is increasingly dominating new product innovation efforts across multiple alcohol categories from beers to liquors in the APAC region.
Vietnam-based East West Brewery is tapping the traditions of craft beer to grow the category in its home nation, while also seeking to innovate with flavours to appeal to more mature export markets.
The high rate of counterfeiting in India has resulted in far-reaching repercussions on public health and economic development, sparking an urgent need to educate consumers and for companies to adopt authentication solutions, says an Indian association.
The alcohol sector in Dubai has warmly welcomed the authorities’ decision to scrap its 30% taxation on sales in a bid to lower prices and boost tourism, despite officials highlighting that this is not yet considered a permanent change.
Alcohol health information and warnings should be mandatory on online retail pages in New Zealand, researchers claim, arguing that simply containing them on product pictures is insufficient.
Johnnie Walker believes that post-COVID-19 innovation within the alcohol industry now needs to move beyond flavour variation and to focus more on digitalisation, globalisation and sustainability aspects to satisfy consumer demands.
Singapore spirits firm Proof & Company believes that its ‘world-first’ alcohol refill kiosk technology will lead the industry into a sustainable, circular economy future, in addition to fulfilling consumer hopes for lower prices.
Female consumers have been acknowledged as one of the next big target demographics for the alcohol industry in China, with many firms increasing their innovation focus on flavour variety expansion and ingredient localisation in hopes of tapping this relatively...
India has seen a renewed spate of food and beverage counterfeit cases in the past few months, particularly involving alcohol and edible oil, leading experts to urge the government and industry to implement a technologically-advanced ‘all-around’ plan...
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been touted as a new-age way for premium alcohol brands to offer consumers a simultaneous luxury experience and authenticity guarantee, which could help solve some of the industry’s biggest food safety and fraud issues.
Premium spirits MNC Beam Suntory believes that the revival of travel retail is especially important for its India business to thrive, with the firm outlining how it plans to achieve growth in the category.
Alcohol brands and retailers will need to enhance collaboration to better display products that are most in sync with localisation and experimentation trends – two key factors driving younger consumers’ purchasing decisions today.
Japanese firms will gradually introduce a new voluntary net alcohol labelling scheme to avoid cost and environmental impacts, according to beer giant Kirin.
The alcohol industry in Japan is concerned over the impacts of the country’s latest rounds of COVID-19 restrictions on the sector’s growth, with many businesses in a stake of flux and uncertainty and even major traditional breweries looking to expand...
Taiwan-based Kavalan Distillery has predicted that the whiskey sector in Asia is set to be driven by premium and ready-to-drink (RTD) products in 2022, while also revealing its secret to winning over 100 international awards last year.
People who consume red wine between one to more than five glasses a week had a 10 to 17% lower risk in contracting COVID-19, but beer drinkers had a heightened risk, according to a recent study.
Locally-produced wines, beers and spirits are currently on the up-and-up in India’s alcohol industry, with millennial consumers in particular preferring these over international brands – but drinks not in the premium or low price categories continue to...
New Zealand start-up Terps & Co believes it has created the world’s first non-alcoholic terpene spirits to help people ‘lose the booze but not the feels’.
The alcohol industry in India has slammed Delhi’s new liquor excise policy as ‘disruptive’ and argues that new measures risk creating the very ‘cartels’ it aims to prevent.
Kirin-owned brewery Lion is urging the wider industry to increase commitments to recycle glass and aluminium, particularly in countries with less-advanced sustainability infrastructures, as these packaging materials are ‘here to stay’.
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have found a way to transform spent coffee grounds into alcoholic beverages rich in bioactive phytochemicals and amino acids.
Alcohol has emerged as the sector with the largest number of counterfeit cases in India in 2020, with experts attributing this to a lack of enforcement as well as high profits available for counterfeiters during the COVID-19 crisis.
A mixture of four Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium probiotic strains has shown to lower alcohol and acetaldehyde concentration in individuals with the genotype prone to Asian flush.
South Korea consumers are drinking more alcohol alone at home amid COVID-19, a trend which has driven fruit wine imports up but not managed to stop a downward slope for imported beers.
Singapore-based Lion Brewery Co has tapped its e-commerce business and new concepts including subscription services to drive craft beer sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
UK’s premium mixer brand Fever-Tree is ramping up its Asia-Pacific expansion with a launch into South Korea this year, and rolling out its low-calorie range into more markets.
Japanese brewery giants Asahi and Kirin are reacting cautiously to the government’s push to include alcoholic content by gramme on product labels, though both will be implementing changes which experts believe will be emulated by the rest of the industry...
Australian kombucha specialist firm Bucha of Byron is looking beyond its traditional health conscious clientele to also target consumers seeking alcoholic beverages with a better-for-you twist.
Australia’s alcoholic drinks sector has started the year with a fight on two fronts, leading industry leaders to give both barrels to new government drinking guidelines and accusations from academics that it provides a ‘distorted view’ of scientific evidence’...
Malaysia-based Berjaya Pharmacy Distribution is hoping to enter the pharmacy, grocery and food service channels nationwide with its anti-hangover candy, Sober Up.
India has emerged as the top supporter of stronger alcohol policy implementation in a new study, where researchers also criticised labelling changes in Australia and New Zealand and called for stronger, more effective measures to be put in place.
New Zealand’s premium gin company Scapegrace Distilling is set to export its naturally coloured black gin in Asia, with the first shipments expected to land in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Japan this month.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recently announced that it would be making industry-friendly changes to the text requirements for pregnancy warning labels on alcoholic beverages – but its insistence to mandate coloured labels has left industry...
Malaysia is considering a potential reviews of regulations governing alcohol sales and/or production following a rash of drunk driving accidents in the country, marking yet another hurdle for an industry trying to find its feet due to COVID-19.
The Australian alcoholic beverages industry has highlighted ‘glaringly obvious’ flaws and anomalies in the government’s recent review of minimum unit pricing, claiming that the results are erroneous and calling for an inquiry.
Alcohol consumption in UAE is expected to continue to decline, a trend which began last year and accelerated with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, according to new research.
Thailand's retraction of a nationwide blanket ban on alcohol sales, which led to panic-buying and fears of a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections, has been defended by industry leaders who claim alcohol and social gatherings don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand.
Chinese’s premium baijiu brand Rong Tai He Moutai (RTH) Maotaijiu is planning to expand into Japan, South Korea, ASEAN and the US with its high-end spirit this year.
Sales of alcohol and fresh foods on e-commerce in China have surged during the COVID-19 epidemic, with market analysts predicting that the changes in consumer buying habits are here to stay.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recently approved a proposal to implement regulations mandating that all alcohol bottles are to carry warning labels targeted at pregnant women, a move that has prompted severe backlash from the Australian...
Australian craft distilling company Natural Distilling Co has chosen to use hemp as the main ingredient for its first two product launches, as it intensifies efforts in using local, natural and sustainable superfood ingredients to innovate in the craft...
Sake originated in Japan and is made alcoholic from fermented rice. Hiro Sake wants to make the trend portable and accessible with smaller, on-the-go portions.
Distilled coconut liquor spiked with methanol in the Philippines was responsible for 11 deaths and caused illness in 300 more, reported national newspaper Phil Star.
Prospective fathers should cut down on drinking when couples try to conceive, according to a Chinese study that has linked paternal alcohol consumption to a higher chance of congenital heart disease.
China’s recent signing of a landmark agreement with the European Union (EU) committing to the protection of 100 EU and 100 Chinese products protected under the Geographical Indication (GI) system will see maximum benefits for EU alcohol and Chinese teas.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has issued a statement calling for public comment on the draft pregnancy warning label, which is to be included as a mandatory requirement on packaged alcoholic drinks with 1.15% alcohol by volume or more.
Singapore food tech company, SinFooTech, is upcycling soy whey food waste into an alcoholic beverage, Sachi, using its zero waste patented fermentation technology.
A new application targeted at providing a platform to convey alcoholic drink information and analytics for users will be powered by Augmented Reality (AR), bringing the content to life via a unique animated presentation format.
