Beer, makgeolli duke it out

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff reporter

The increasing sales of makgeolli, the cloudy Korean traditional rice wine, had beer producers raising their pints in misery. However, the FIFA World Cup, the raging global party that comes once every four years, now appears to have the companies back in high spirits.

The country's major beer brands, including Cass, OB and Hite, are competing to introduce new products and engage in lavish marketing campaigns to exploit the lucrative window provided by the planet's most-watched sporting event.

Other opportunistic businesses include fried chicken franchises, food delivery services, instant meal makers, and yes, makgeolli producers, the sworn enemies of beer companies.

During previous World Cup tournaments, sales of beer jumped by double digits compared to average months, a trend that Oriental Brewery (OB), the maker of the Cass and OB, believes will continue this year.

And the euphoria created by South Korea's convincing win over Greece in its Group B opener Saturday, which put the country leading in World Cup goal differentials for the first time ever, will obviously help beer sales, according to the companies.

OB timed the release of its new Cass Light with the start of the World Cup, pitching the calories-shed product to the more sensitive beer drinkers who worry about bloated bellies.

The Hite-Jinro Group, makers of Hite and Max beers, has released Max Special Hop 2010, which the company says was made from hops coming from South Africa, the host of the current World Cup.

During the 2002 World Cup, when South Korea hosted the tournament and advanced to the semifinals, Hite-Jinro saw sales of its flagship Hite beers jump by nearly 18 percent compared to the average of previous months, while OB also enjoyed a 10-percent-plus increase in sales.

"Our annual sales during the World Cup 2002 and 2006 jumped by an average of 5 percent," said a Hite-Jinro spokesman. "The first-round matches are broadcast at 8:30 p.m. or 3:30 a.m. here, which are more favorable times for selling beer than in 2006."

Makgeolli has gained immense popularity over the past year, which is partially explained by the economic downturn that had drinkers looking for cheaper beverages.

This devastated the markets of whisky, wine and soju, Korea's traditional distilled beverage, and also served a severe blow to the sales of beer. Plus the abnormally chilly spring this year appears to have prevented drinkers from switching predominately to beer until recently.

The beer market posted a meager 0.5 percent growth last year, while the market for makgeolli grew by more than 40 percent. Market watchers predict that the beer market will grow by a more-healthy 5 percent this year, thanks in large part to the World Cup jolt.

However, makgeolli makers also claim that the World Cup will be their time to shine as well.
Kooksoondang Brewery, which has greatly gained from the makgeolli boom, is selling limited-edition makgeolli bottles for the World Cup, as is Bae Hae Jung Nurukdoga, another major makgeolli maker.
Kooksoondang also operates the Baekseju Maeul bars and will open many of the outlets to fans for organizing cheering events for South Korea matches.

So the debate is on whether beer or makgeolli goes better with football, but at least for Korean sports fans, the status of fried chicken is undisputed. Ne Ne Chicken, one of the country's biggest chicken delivery franchises, said it ran out of chickens during the South Korea-Greece match on Saturday, despite having its shops prepare 30 percent more packages than they normally do.

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