Major Japanese drinks maker eyes Australia expansion
While alcohol consumption is declining worldwide due to growing health consciousness, canned "chuhai" spirits have become increasingly popular. Young people especially are attracted to their relatively low alcohol content and diverse fruit flavors.
Suntory Holdings CEO Niinami Takeshi expressed belief that there is still untapped space in the canned alcoholic beverages market.
He said "Sales of drinks like canned 'chuhai' spirits and canned whisky soda are greatly increasing, so we decided to develop this market in Australia."
Niinami cites Australia's growing population and a GDP per capita about twice that of Japan as reasons for the moves.
He said "This market is so dynamic, and we should be more engaging with this market so that we can increase our presence in Oceania."
Other major Japanese beverage manufacturers are also tapping into Australia. The country's beer market in 2023 was dominated by companies under two Japanese breweries.
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