How beer in China goes upmarket - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein with his two books

Beer has always been a poor-people product, but has been going upmarket, now China´s elite discover the more fancy beers, tells retail analyst Shaun Rein to the Boston Globe. Although, in the sales, craft beers in China hardly show up, that is going to change.

The Boston Globe:

"In some parts of rural China, it’s cheaper to drink beer than water,” said Shaun Rein, founder of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group. “It’s always been a poor man’s beverage.” In the United States, craft beer makes up 12 percent of the market; in China, it barely registers. 

Rein, the researcher, attributes the craft-beer explosion to the increasing number of Chinese who studied abroad. “These are young consumers who want to show they’re more sophisticated and are buying something different,” he said. 

Chimay and floral Belgium beers now pop up on store shelves, and some bigger city bars serve well-known brews from the United States, including Dogfish Head and Ballast Point. 

Rein estimates the industry will see around 25 percent growth annually over the next five years. Meanwhile, sales of traditional beers are declining.

More in the Boston Globe. 

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form. 

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Belgium: winning the Aigo Europe contract?

Vincent van Quickenborne via Wikipedia

When Belgian minister Vincent van Quickenborne was quoted by Flemish media from the World Economic Forum, telling the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance would pick Belgium for its alliance of 100 Chinese companies to enter Europe, we had to smile a bit. Had not Denmark claimed the same earlier this month? (Here and here articles in Dutch.)

The Aigo alliance had visited on its Europe trip also the UK and the Netherlands, so perhaps we have to wait for more contestants?

The liberal minister was obvious very eager to show he was an effective government official, just days before the Belgian general strike on Monday, mainly focusing on his pension reform plan.

Fortunately, the full text of his messages clarified Aigo is only going to make their final decision in Beijing mid-February, so the Flemish media might have jumped a bit too early on this possibility.

The Aigo alliance is an interesting one, organizing private companies in China. Private companies tend to be smaller compared to the larger state-owned companies, but are growing fast. The alliance combines forces, a concept that is interesting, not only for those companies, but also for their European partners. 

More in February.

Update: Flemish prime minister Kris Peeters seems a bit overenthusiastic too, as he claim already victory. 

"Welcome, best friend from Europe"

Image by Ulrich Thumult via Flickr

Today we noted an interesting dispatch from the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, reporting on a recent trip of "top Chinese investors" to Europe. The crunch of the article was the summary of a statement issued earlier today:

The decision to open joint headquarters in Denmark follows a working visit by some 25 Chinese investors to European countries in December 2011. They represented up to 500 Chinese companies who are members of the Aigo Entrepreneur Alliance, which helps Chinese firms build overseas operations.

Fun detail: Denmark did win from other European countries like the Netherlands, the UK, Belgium and others. I reposted this with a short remark on Google+, and got an instant remark with a link to this Belgium success on the vote.
An earlier example of this strategy is the giant electronic firm Huawai, who has been announcing the opening more European headquarters, R&D centers and even global centers than we can count on the fingers of two hands. It is mostly part of justified Chinese politeness towards their European friends.
Unfortunately, those European friends might take the promise all too literally. It is part of the Chinese culture where you try to tie the knot with your potential friends as close as possible; similarly, it is part of the European culture to take it all too serious and use it too early as serious fodder for their respective electorates.
It is not only happening in Europe, also different states in the US and countries in other parts of the world are vying for the status of "best friend of China". And of course, some might get something out of those promises, but the race is only starting.
Mostly, those citizens do not read each others newspapers, so both Chinese companies and European politicians can just ignore the fact that the same promise is do to so many other countries.
Now, just thinking loudly: would coordinating this kind of 'promises' on a public website not be a cute idea for the newly formed EU foreign affairs department? Or could that hurt the intra-European relations too much?

Related articles

• China Unlikely to Ride to Europe's Rescue Soon (nytimes.com)
• Chinese consumers are buying status - Paul French (chinaherald.net)
• British colonialism, racism and dog meat - Zhang Lijia (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Europe's wishful thinking gets a China treatment (fonstuinstra.net)

Fine chocolate: the ideal China gift - Shaun Rein

Chocolate warriors

The Europeans, especially the Belgians and the Swiss, bring China the ideal gift for the wealthy: chocolate. Shanghai's World Chocolate Wonderland showcases. Fine chocolate is high on the agenda of affluent shoppers, tells business analyst Shaun Rein in the Financial Times. 

The Financial Times:

China's increasingly affluent consumers are boosting spending on fine chocolates, says Shaun Rein, author of The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that will Disrupt the World. 

More than half of China's chocolate sales are for gifts. Christmas and next month's Lunar New Year are the peak seasons. 

Rein says costly confection fills a gap in traditional present buying. "When you don't want to buy someone a Mont Blanc pen but you want to buy something more expensive than mooncakes [a traditional gift for the mid-autumn festival] ... chocolate hits a good market position. There just aren't that many other prestige gift items in the $50-$200 range."

More in the Financial Times 

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form . 

Shaun Rein

More on Shaun Rein and his upcoming book "The End of Cheap China" at Storify.

Related articles

• China's rich get richer and more confident - Shaun Rein (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• The End of Cheap China is near - Shaun Rein (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Europe split on how to deal with China - Shaun Rein (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Only Europe can save Europe, not China - Shaun Rein (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Luxury spending moves to smaller cities - Shaun Rein (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Ambassador Nicolas Platt endorses "The End of Cheap China" - Shaun Rein (chinaherald.net)