Western consumer brands in China have long been coming to terms with the prospect of lower growth in the world’s second-largest economy. But demand for Heineken’s beers tells a different story.
In 2023, sales volumes for the Dutch lager maker’s various brands, including Amstel, rose more than 50 per cent. Last year, as the overall mainland China beer market shrank, its volumes increased nearly 20 per cent to just under 700mn litres — almost enough to serve a pint to everyone in the country.
Heineken’s growth comes after a deal agreed in 2018 with China Resources Beer, China’s biggest brewer, which gave the state-owned group rights to the brand on the mainland while Heineken took a stake in China Resources Beer and gets royalties from the deal.