Kamil Ruzek, the senior brewmaster of Asahi Europe & International Ltd., poses for a photo with a glass of Kozel White at a press event in Seoul on April 13, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — AE Brands Korea, the regional branch of Asahi Europe & International Ltd., said Thursday it hopes to recreate the success of its dark beer Kozel, with the launch of a new lager unveiled in South Korea for the first time globally.
“Korea is our biggest market outside of Europe. Koreans are very innovative, fast and creative. Due to these innovations, we decided to have a collaboration and develop a new beer that Korean consumers would really love,” said Matthew Holmes, the general manager of AE Brands Korea, at a press event in Seoul.
The newly launched Kozel White is a lager characterized by its fruity notes, refreshing taste and low alcohol content of 3.5 percent.
The product was originally introduced in kegs at selective bars in South Korea last year. This is the first time a canned version of the product is being made available to consumers.
South Korea has been designated as the test bed for the new product, the executive said, amid the growing importance of Korean consumers in the brewer’s global operations.
South Korea is among the top five largest markets for Kozel. It is the only foreign market among the top five that imports all of our products, he added.
Koreans’ creative and innovative takes on alcoholic beverages was another reason why the company decided to carry out its global launch in Seoul, Holmes said.
The company plans to expand the product to Europe in 2024, after a review of sales trends in Korea.
“During COVID-19 within beer, we are seeing interesting variants (in South Korea). New flavors and premiums continued to grow a lot. We would love to be the No. 3 in the lager category. We are really committed to the Korean market,” the executive said.
Asahi Europe & International is part of Asahi Group Holdings, and the exporter of famous beer brands, including Kozel and Pilsner Urquell.
(Yonhap)
