South Korea: Oriental Brewery to invest 1 trillion won in its business over the next three years

Oriental Brewery (OB) will pour one trillion won ($880 billion) into product development and infrastructure over the next three years, a key step in the company's plan to dominate the domestic beer market, the Korea Times reported on April 5.

Korea's largest brewer will bet big on expanding its brand portfolio, as well as fostering the craft beer market and building eco-friendly breweries, the company said, Friday.

It is by far the largest investment by a domestic brewer.

The company will invest 400 billion won on upgrading its flagship beer brand Cass, saying it will focus on improving its sales and marketing strategies.

"Cass is still the No.1 beer brand in Korea, but its outlook isn't very promising at the moment. We need to try better to enhance the brand value," an OB official said.

OB plans to foster its craft beer brands, such as "Hand and Malt" and "Goose Island," on a global scale to satisfy consumers who now seek more diverse, high-end beers.

As a local distributor for several global brands, the company said it aims to enter local restaurants with a 500-milliliter version of Budweiser.

It will invest about 300 billion won in research and development projects associated with new products, while the rest of the money will be used to support eco-friendly breweries, such as buildings with solar panels or brewing with renewable electricity.

"Since AB InBev's acquisition of OB in 2014, we have invested about 520 billion won to increase infrastructure," an OB official said.

"We will continue to invest more to diversify our product portfolio amid sluggish sales and elevated competition from imported beers."

OB recently raised the prices of its major brands, including Cass, Premier OB and Cafri, by an average of 5.3 percent. It currently holds the highest market share in the Korean beer market, hovering above 60 percent.

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