As the premiumisation trend continues unabated in the UK drinks industry, world beer, cider and spirits company KBE Drinks this week announced that it has found the right ‘Super-Premium’ lager to enter this emerging sub-category – Japan’s Sapporo.
Already successful as an accompaniment to Japanese food, bottled Sapporo is stocked in many UK Japanese restaurants, but the deal with KBE will now see it expand into pubs and bars in a draught format, with an ABV of 4.9%.
KBE Drinks was set-up over thirty years ago to distribute India’s popular Kingfisher beer to the UK and throughout Europe. The last five years have seen a period of rapid growth for the company, as it has added a selection of brands from all over the globe, including Sagres from Portugal, Dos Equis from Mexico and Ichnusa from Sardinia.
Along the way, KBE has built up a comprehensive network of on-trade customers across restaurants, pubs, bars, hotels, sports stadia and festivals.
Chief operating officer of KBE Drinks, Shaun Goode, said: “We are so excited to finally be able to celebrate the addition of draught Sapporo Premium Beer to our growing portfolio of world beers and ciders and relaunch the brand to the UK on-trade.
“This will be the first-time Sapporo Premium Beer has been available on draught, and we will be looking to seed it in a select number of pubs and bars which reflect its super-premium credentials.”
Sapporo is described as a product of ‘Japanese precision craftsmanship’ based on the best traditional approaches with an innovative twist.
Its first Master Brewer, Seibei Nakagawa, travelled to Germany to acquire brewing knowledge, and then brought it back to the brewery at Hokkaido, where they have since used cutting-edge technology to perfect the brand, even developing their own genetic strains of barley and hops.
General manager of Sapporo Europe B.V, Satoru Morita, added: “Whilst Sapporo Premium Beer has been hugely successful in the Japanese food occasion and is already stocked in many of the UK’s finest Japanese restaurants, we are keen to see it expand into pubs and bars with a draught format.
“We think consumers will love its distinctively crisp taste. In KBE Drinks, we believe we have found the perfect distributer to unlock this opportunity.”
