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| From left, New Cass beer and Hanmac beer produced by OB / Courtesy of OB |
By Kim Jae-heun
Oriental Brewery (OB) has recently been introducing innovative products in line with consumer trends to cope with a stagnating liquor industry affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
OB, along with its innovation team at the Icheon factory in Gyeonggi Province, studies consumer trends in the rapidly changing alcoholic beverage market and spearheads product research and development by introducing new products.
The team offered input that led OB to make changes to major components in the production of its best-selling Cass beer, while launching a new beer brand called Hanmac that was developed by reflecting customer feedback.
OB decided to use a transparent glass bottle for Cass to offer a cleaner design and let customers see the alcoholic beverage inside. The bottle's shape has also been altered in hopes of giving off a more sophisticated image.
The brewer did not change the recipe for Cass beer, but upgraded the brewing technology by maturing the beer at a low temperature of 0 degrees Celsius for 72 hours to give it a fresh taste.
There is a small hexagon-shaped thermometer attached on the beer label that turns bright blue along with the word "Fresh" when the brew is served ice-cold. OB applied the technology to let customers know the best time to drink the beer.
Hanmac is a new lager beer that OB launched in January.
OB decided to use the Korean staple of rice as the main ingredient.
Before officially launching Hanmac, OB offered the product to customers in Seoul and Busan on a trial basis for two months last year and reflected customer feedback on the taste.
"OB will continue to beef up its brand portfolio by launching items that satisfy customers' needs and trends in the rapidly changing domestic market. The OB innovation team will continue to prioritize research and development of our products to satisfy our customers," an OB official said.
