Xinhuanet, Shanghai, January 27 (Wang Ruoyu, intern Tang Xinyue) "Budweiser Group became attached to China in 1984, and this year marks the 40th anniversary. We have invested in the local market and established a complete supply chain." Recently, Jan Craps, CEO and Co-Chairperson of Budweiser Asia Pacific, was interviewed by Xinhuanet in Shanghai. He said that adhering to the localization development strategy of "in China, for China", the company continues to increase investment in China, establish and improve the industrial chain in China, and promote the industry to move towards high-quality development. At present, the company has more than 23,000 employees, 30 factories and more than 50 beer brands in China.
Continue to be optimistic about China: invest more than 30 billion yuan in China
Since entering China in 1984, Budweiser has been optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese market. For four decades, Budweiser has been investing in China without stopping: from setting up China's first Budweiser brewery in Wuhan, to putting into production Budweiser's largest craft brewery in Asia Pacific, to becoming the first leading foreign company to set up a branch in Tibet, Budweiser Group and the Chinese market have always "resonated at the same frequency" and went both ways.
China is the world's largest beer market, accounting for about a quarter of the world's beer consumption, Mr. Juncker said. Since its association with China, Budweiser Asia Pacific has established strategic alliances with a large number of suppliers and equipment manufacturers to jointly raise industry benchmarks, set standards, and develop a strong supply chain with wineries at the core, extending to upstream and downstream.
In 2022, Budweiser Asia Pacific's largest craft brewery, Putian Craft Beer Factory, was officially completed and put into operation. In addition to producing world-renowned first-line craft brewing brands such as Goose Island and Boxing Cat, it also became the base for Budweiser Asia Pacific to create local craft brewing brands based on Fujian cultural characteristics, and launched the 059 coastline craft brewing brand featuring local raw materials such as Wuyishan Dahongpao and Fujian passion fruit. In the same year, after the beer industry was included in the "Foreign Investment Encouragement Catalogue" in the six provinces of the west and northeast, Budweiser Group moved quickly to increase capital and expand the production line of the Ziyang factory in Sichuan, and put into operation three high-end line beers, with an additional capacity of 42,000 tons.
Budweiser Asia Pacific also focuses on investing in local communities. According to Yang Ke, in Anyue County, Sichuan Province, the "hometown of lemons in China", Budweiser works with farmers to improve the quality of lime and jointly cultivate and grow "Corona Selected Lime". Every year, Budweiser Asia Pacific buys these lime from farmers and distributes them nationwide through dealer channels, and the profits are returned to the farmers, thereby improving the local economy and helping the rural revitalization. It is worth mentioning that this project became the first Chinese case in history to win the Titanium Lion Award at the Cannes International Creative Festival.
Advancing high-quality development: setting a "double carbon" benchmark for the industry
China is already the world's largest producer and consumer of beer. However, the hops needed to produce beer in China have always relied on imports. High-quality hops not only make beer taste better, but also have high economic added value. Therefore, in the industry, hops are also known as "green gold".
Launching the cultivation of local hops in China is a key part of Budweiser Asia Pacific's high-quality development of the industry. Walking into the 4,400-square-meter indoor hops farm in Langxia Town, Jinshan District, Shanghai, the air is filled with the unique fragrance of hops. This is the first soilless cultivation project of hops in China. The farm uses intelligent cultivation to greatly improve the output and quality, laying a solid foundation for the innovation and research of domestic hop cultivation.
Jinshan Hops Farm is also a green farm that realizes zero sewage discharge. Through the use of coconut bran, rock wool, beer grains and other cultivation substrates in modern smart glass greenhouses to achieve soilless cultivation of hops, the farm meets a series of environmental requirements for hops such as temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration, reducing waste of resources and achieving sustainable development of environmental protection.
In the "double carbon" strategy, Budweiser Asia Pacific hopes to set a benchmark for the high-quality development of the domestic beer industry chain.
"We are very encouraged by China's target of achieving peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. We have set a goal of net zero emissions across the entire value chain globally by 2040, which means not only net zero emissions for our own factories, but also net zero emissions for the entire value chain to which our factories are linked," said Mr. Yank.
In 1995, China's first Budweiser brewery was established in Wuhan, and in 2021, the factory has achieved carbon neutrality. This is also the first major Budweiser brewery in the world to achieve carbon neutrality.
In the supply chain, Budweiser Asia Pacific has mapped the carbon footprint of 60% of its direct procurement projects. From wineries to various upstream and downstream suppliers, Budweiser Asia Pacific is guiding the entire supply chain to achieve fundamental sustainability through different paths and methods.
At present, Budweiser Asia Pacific has 10 wineries in China that have achieved 100% renewable energy, and 5 wineries have achieved the goal of "zero waste factory".
Confidence comes from resilience: long-term optimism about the Chinese market
In the context of sluggish global economic growth, many countries have increased their emphasis on the beer industry. This is not only because of the resilience of the beer industry itself and the characteristics of "cross-cycle" in the consumer market, but also because the beer industry has always been regarded as "the linkage of the three industries and the development of the five industries".
One end is connected to farmers, rural areas, agriculture, and the other end is connected to manufacturing, circulation, and consumption - the beer industry plays an important role in the modern economic cycle.
In the first three quarters of last year, Budweiser Asia Pacific achieved double-digit growth in sales and profit margins in the Chinese market. While driving the development of suppliers, distributors, point-of-sale stores and trading partners, Budweiser Asia Pacific also created a large number of jobs and employment opportunities in China.
At the same time, Budweiser Asia Pacific will further expand its efforts in China's high-end beer consumer market. Yang Ke believes that in the coming period, the number of middle-income households in China will continue to increase, and they will prefer to buy high-quality products. "We hope to lead the high-end beer industry and provide consumers with more high-quality products."
In the future, Budweiser Asia-Pacific will also launch a new round of strategic layout in China. In addition to competing for the high-end consumer market, Yang Ke said that Budweiser Asia-Pacific also hopes to promote the green transformation of the beer industry, establish carbon neutrality breweries, carbon neutrality supply chains, and realize the technology and digitalization of the industry. Build smart factories and promote the digitalization of the business system. "These are our ambitions in China," he said.
"Focus on the Chinese economy, which remains an important engine of global growth. We are very pleased with our business in China and optimistic about the country's prospects. Going forward, we will continue to make long-term investments," said Mr. Janke.
