t
I
Taiwan beer market something special
Eating and drinking
In Taiwan (formerly called Formosa) imported beer has been allowed on the market since
1st January 1987. Heineken was quick to seize its chance to introduce Heineken beer there.
"Good expectations for exports to Taiwan", wrote Heineken International Magazine in July
1987. Now, more than two years later, we can provisionally take stock: Heineken beer is facing
heavy competition in Taiwan, but it's doing well.
Stampede
I
Opportunities
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NR. 22
PAGE 4
Keen competition demands
output of more than four million
hectolitres, controls the remainder
of the market.
As the above figures show, beer
is a popular drink in Taiwan. Beer
is drunk from little glasses which
are sometimes drained at one gulp
to the accompaniment of the toast
'Gan bei' (literally 'dry glass'). In
Taiwan, drinking a beer (or partak
ing of any other alcoholic refresh
ment) is inseparable from eating.
Visiting a pub to down a few pints
of beer, as is the custom in many
other countries, is not known in
Taiwan. Always, even just after
enjoying a copious meal, a small
bite to eat has to be served with a
glass of beer.
Meals are an important element
of Chinese culture. A good meal
three times a day is the ultimate
experience for the Chinese. And
with that meal there is always
something to drink. It may be a
soft drink, or fruit juice. But usu
ally rice wine is drunk during the
short winter, and lots of beer dur
ing the long, hot summer.
Taiwan (with a population of
17 million on an island as big as
Holland) has grown within the past
decades from a country oriented to
agriculture to become a highly
industrialised nation with its main
focus on exports. Economically
speaking, therefore, the Chinese in
Taiwan are doing well; prosperity
is climbing at a rapid pace and the
consumer has a lot of money to
spend. He is seeking new, high-
quality products and is willing to
pay more for them. This change in
consumer behaviour was one of the
reasons why the Taiwan Govern
ment gave its permission for the
borders to be opened for imported
beers.
Up to two years ago only local
beer was consumed. Because of a
state monopoly system foreign
beers were not permitted. Only on
one occasion - in 1981 - did the
government decide to allow im
ported beer into the country on a
large scale because there was a
threat of a big shortfall in the local
brewery's output. Some big brew
eries, including Heineken, were
given permission to sell beer on the
Taiwan market. Heineken was then
able to ship out 300,000 cases to
the port of Keelung. Unfortunately,
it only happened that once; the
capacity problems in the local
brewery were partly solved and
breweries outside Taiwan were no
longer in with a chance. Only in
January 1987, following pressure
both from consumers and from
exporting countries like the United
States, was authorisation finally
given for beer to be imported.
There was a real stampede by the
breweries. Everyone wanted a
piece of the action in this potential
market. Within a few months there
were as many as 140 different
brands of beer on sale in Taiwan!
The fierce competitive battle that
followed soon brought its first 'ca
sualties' One year after the aboli
tion of the import restrictions it
became pretty obvious that the
beer market in Taiwan had been
swamped. The 270,000 hectolitres
that were imported in 1987 had
Left foreground: Eric S. Chou, vice-president of the Yi-Der-Shing Co. wholesaling business in Taipei.
Boosting the brand awareness of Heineken beer is also achieved by hold
ing promotions in, say, restaurants. Here, two girls dressed in Heineken
costumes persuade diners to give Heineken beer a try.
already dropped to 140,000 in
1988. This figure is a truer reflec
tion of the actual level of consump
tion in Taiwan. Now, in 1989, ten
brands of beer (including Heine
ken) have been able to maintain
their position out of the original
140. However, the contribution
made by these ten in the Taiwan
beer market is still negligible, as
all imported beers together com
prise a mere 2% share of the total
market! The local brewery, with an
So, the position of the local beer
is seemingly unassailable with a
market share of 98%. Only seem
ingly so, because the situation is
slowly changing. The consumer in
Taiwan is increasingly being
attracted by products from the West
and from Japan. These products
often have a premium character
and a high-quality image. Oppor
tunities galore for Heineken!
Opportunities which are being
Keelung is Taiwan's biggest and most important seaport. The containers of Heineken beer are shipped into this port
'Heineken]
Heineken j
Heineken
Heineken;
ineki-n
•Heineken-
