Beer is one of the main alcoholic beverages in China, and are widely available across many different channels in the country from supermarkets to restaurants.Beer sales are mostly completed through retail and dining channels. Retail consumption in 2018 was at 23.26 billion liters. This figure is expected to rise to 24 billion liters by 2023. Dining channels consume a comparatively less amount of beer and is projected to drop from 17.56 billion liters in 2018 to 16.94 billion liters in 2023.

The beer industry in China is slowly beginning to transition into a competition between brands rather than cost competition. The dining channels that form the main channels for beer sales are expected to grow even further. Dining channels consumed a total of 6.45 billionliters of high-class beer in 2018 and are projected to consume a total of 8.35 billion liters by 2023. Retail channels consume much less beer compared to dining channels, with retail channels consuming 1.58 billion liters in 2018 and projected to consume a total 1.85 billion liters in 2023.

Brewers’ abilities to enter or capture vital saleschannels have become a crucial success factor as the Chinese beer industry continues to develop. The creation of an experienced and capable sales team is particularly important when attempting to enter channels for high-class beer in order toidentify the correct channel and come into contact with the right consumers.

Online channels have also been growing at a pace where they are impossible to ignore. Most major brewers have already been opening online stores on mainstream e-commerce platforms. Smaller retailers,restaurants and consumers are also showing an increased reliance on B2B e-commerce.