Spain & China: Grupo Damm enters China’s beer market

Grupo Damm has entered the Chinese beer market as it moves to the next phase of its global expansion plan, the company's international brands director confirmed in an interview.

The Spanish independent brewer set up its Chinese office six months ago, but was only able to begin selling last month, Guillem Castellà revealed. The company has two brands in the market - Estrella Damm lager and Inedit Damm - and is targetting premium on-premise accounts in major coastal cities including Shanghai and Beijing.

Castellà admitted that the Chinese premium beer market is fiercely competitive but that the risk of entry is worth the high volumes potential.

"We know it is a bet, but it is a bet that we need to take and the only way to take it is to be present there and try to understand the market," Castellà explained.

International brewers are increasingly targeting the premium beer market in China, which has seen strong growth as value beer stagnates. Last month, Heineken said it plans to launch Mexican lager Tecate in the country as well as other Asia markets.

The international director also said that with the China entry and a launch in Chile two months ago through wine company Concha y Toro, Grupo Damm was now selling beer in most of its target export markets. The company's new focus is to grow the existing international business.

"What we are trying to do is to grow our export markets," Castellà said. "We have introduced into most of the markets that we want to be in and now the job is to grow the market and grow the brand and make it a true global brand."

He also praised Estrella Damm's sponsorship of leading European team Barcelona Football Club for helping the company expand sales to more than 85 countries.

"When we try to set up a partnership with an important industry player, the fact that you are the sponsor of one of the top teams in the world immediately gives you a lot of credibility," Castellà said.

The international director was speaking on May 4 after the UK launch of Estrella Damm's new European marketing campaign featuring a short film with Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage.

The 15-minute 'La Vida Nuestra' (Our Life) is the third in a series of short films produced by Estrella Damm over the past three years and, as the previous two campaigns did, highlights life in the Mediterranean in glorious sunshine.

Castellà said the Damm team has focussed on the "pull" of the Mediterranean lifestyle to market Estrella Damm in key markets, especially the UK, the beer's biggest export destination. The company also targets gastronomy events and partners with top chefs to drive demand in the premium on-premise.

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