OB's brewed cocktails draw favorable response from young consumers
People toast with Oriental Brewery’s MixxTail cocktails during a home party. / Courtesy of OB
By Yoon Sung-won
Oriental Brewery (OB) said Sunday its new “MixxTail” brewed cocktails are drawing favorable responses in the Korean market, particularly among young customers.
The nation’s largest beer manufacturer said it will expand marketing activities such as tasting events in major commercial districts to attract customers who seek casual drinks for home parties.
“With MixxTail, we particularly target young customers between 25 and 34 who are playing a major role in the consumption of alcoholic beverages here,” OB said in a statement. “We will launch diverse marketing activities for consumers who are open to choose new beers and alcoholic beverages. We also expect an increase in the demand for MixxTail as casual drinking events such as home parties are rapidly penetrating into Korean consumers.”
OB rolled out the MixxTail series with two different tastes ― Mojito and Strawberry Margarita ― in May. Whereas MixxTail Mojito combines undiluted malt with lime and mint to offer a fresh taste, MixxTail Strawberry Margarita adds the sweet-and-sour taste of strawberry, the company said. As a casual beverage, both types of MixxTails have low-alcohol strength of 8 percent.
For OB, MixxTail is the first brewed cocktail beverage other than beers. Though the new alcoholic beverages are produced through the same fermentation process as beer, MixxTail is not only different from ordinary beers in terms of taste and alcohol strength, but also differentiates itself from free-mix cocktails.
Tapping into the infrastructure and technologies of its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, OB has pushed to develop the new beverage during a year of researching. The company said it manufacturers MixxTail products at its plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
OB said MixxTail has received favorable reviews from consumers. In a survey of 1,200 Korean consumers, 48 percent of the respondents said the MixxTail Mojito tastes “good,” which is the highest rate among ready-to-drink and free-mix cocktails in the market, the company said.
OB said MixxTail has also been recognized for its premium packaging design. Its bottle has a long and narrow mouth like a wine bottle. The respondents of the survey said MixxTail Mojito’s bottle design gives a premium and refreshing image.