The is a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in

Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows:

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

business (40.5%), overseas business (32%), soft drinks business (17.2%), food business (5.4%) and "other" business (4.9%). Asahi, with a 37% market share, is the largest of the four major beer brewers in Japan followed by Kirin Beer with 34% and

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...

with 16%. Asahi has a 48.5% share of the Australian beer market. In response to a maturing domestic Japanese beer market, Asahi broadened its geographic footprint and business portfolio through the acquisition of beer businesses in Western Europe and Central Eastern Europe. This has resulted in Asahi having a large market share in many European countries, such as a beer market share of 44% in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, 32% in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, 36% in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and 18% in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

The predecessor of the company, , was established in 1889. In 1893, it was reorganized as . In 1906, Ōsaka Breweries merged with Nippon Breweries and Sapporo Breweries to form . During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

prisoners worked in the brewery. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company was divided under the Elimination of Excessive Concentration of Economic Power Law by the

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (), or SCAP, was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) ...

. was separated from Nippon Breweries, which is now

Sapporo Breweries is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo, the oldest brand of beer in Japan, was first brewed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1876 by Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo. The co ...

. In 1989, it was renamed to

katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

. In 2011, it changed its name to Asahi Group Holdings, a holding company, and established Asahi Breweries Ltd as a subsidiary. In 1990, Asahi acquired a 19.9% stake in

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

brewery giant Elders IXL which has since become the

Foster's Group Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, ...

, later sold to

SABMiller SABMiller plc was an Anglo–South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by AB InBev for US$107-billion. It was the world's sec ...

. In 2009, Asahi acquired the Australian beverages unit

Schweppes Australia Schweppes Australia is the non-alcohol business of Asahi Breweries operating in Australia. It is now known as Asahi Lifestyle Beverage having originally arrived in the country in 1850. In 1877, the first factory was built in Sydney. After an in ...

, now known as Asahi Beverages. In early 2009, Asahi acquired 19.9% of Tsingtao Brewery from

Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest brewer in the world, and in 20 ...

for $667 million. The sale made Asahi Breweries, Ltd. the second largest shareholder in Tsingtao behind only the Tsingtao Brewery Group. In July 2011, Asahi acquired

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

juice maker Charlie's and the water and juice divisions of Australian beverage company P&N Beverages. In August 2011, Asahi acquired New Zealand's Independent Liquor, maker of

Vodka Cruiser Vodka Cruiser is a line of brightly coloured vodka-based alcoholic beverages primarily sold in Australia and New Zealand. Sometimes described as an alcopop An alcopop (or cooler) is a category of mixed alcoholic beverages with relatively low al ...

and other alcoholic beverages, for billion. In May 2013 its New Zealand operations expanded with the purchase of retail chain Mill Liquorsave. Also, Asahi acquired the Australian brands and assets of Cricketers Arms and Mountain Goat Brewery in 2013 and 2015, respectively. The first of these transactions happened as a result of

(InBev) agreeing in April 2016 to sell its Dutch business

Grolsch Brewery Koninklijke Grolsch N.V. (; "Royal Grolsch"), known simply as Grolsch, is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt in Groenlo. In 1895, the Family de Groen, de Groen family bought the brewery. They had started their own brewery in Ensc ...

, Italian business Peroni Brewery and the UK's craft Meantime Brewery and SABMiller Brands UK to Asahi; this €2.3 billion deal closed on 12 October 2016. After Inbev's acquisition of

in October 2016, InBev agreed to sell the former SABMiller Ltd.'s Eastern European businesses and relevant assets in

, the

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

to Asahi for US $7.3 billion. The deal closed on 21 December 2016 and included beer brands such as

Pilsner Urquell Pilsner Urquell (; ) is a lager beer brewed at Asahi Breweries' Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (German name: Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, and its popularity meant it was much copied, and ...

, Velkopopovický Kozel, Topvar,

Tyskie Tyskie () is a Polish brand of beer. Its name comes from the brewery located in Tychy. In modern day, it is brewed by the Grolsche Bierbrouwerij in the Netherlands, part of the Asahi Group Holdings which added the Tyskie brand to its world wide ...

, Lech, Dreher and Ursus. In 2017, the company sold its 19.9% stake of Tsingtao Brewery for $937 million. In 2019, the company bought Fuller's beer business from Fuller, Smith & Turner plc for an enterprise value of £250 million. The assets sold comprised the entirety of Fuller's beer, cider and soft drinks brewing and production, wine wholesaling, as well as the distribution thereof and also includes the Griffin Brewery, Cornish Orchards, Dark Star Brewing and Nectar Imports. In May 2020, the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board approved the company's $16 billion bid for Carlton & United Breweries, and the deal will see Asahi ending up with about 48.5 per cent share of the Australian beer market. In January 2024, Asahi Europe & International (AEI), the international arm of Asahi Group Holdings, acquired Octopi Brewing, a contract beverage production and co-packing facility based in Waunakee, Wisconsin.

Brands

The company's primary beer, from 1957 through the late 1980s, was ''Asahi Gold'' (overtaking ''Asahi Draft'', its original formula, which remains in production). However, ''Asahi Super Dry'', introduced in 1987, is now the company's flagship beer brand. Asahi Super Dry, a product that transformed the modern beer industry in Japan, is described as a highly attenuated

lager Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...

without the heavier malt flavors of competitors' products, with a crisp, dry taste reminiscent of some northern German beers. This highly successful launch led to a significant rise in consumer demand for

dry beer Pale lager is a Pale (color), pale-to-Gold (color), golden lager beer with a well-Attenuation (brewing), attenuated body and a varying degree of Hops#Noble hops, noble hop Bitterness (taste), bitterness. In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmay ...

and in turn to a dramatic turnaround in Asahi's business performance, surpassing Kirin in terms of both sales and profitability. Other beers produced include: *''Asahi Draft'' – Lager (first produced in 1892) *''Asahi Gold'' – Lager (former flagship product; first produced in 1957) *''Asahi

Stout Stout is a type of dark beer that is generally warm fermented, such as dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout and imperial stout. Stout is a type of ale. The first known use of the word "stout" for beer is in a document dated 1677 in the E ...

'' *''Asahi Z'' – Dry lager *''Asahi Black'' – a 5% ABV

dark lager Lager (; ) is a style of beer brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "''lager''" comes from the German word for ...

*''Asahi Prime Time'' – German

Pilsener Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewery. Histor ...

style lager (only available in Japan) *''Asahi Super Dry - Dry Crystal'' – a version of Asahi Super Dry with a 3.5% ABV as opposed to the 5% ABV of the original (available in Japan since October 2023) *''Asahi Dry Zero –'' alcohol-free version of Asahi Super Dry Brands acquired from

: *

* Peroni Brewery * Meantime Brewery *

Gambrinus Gambrinus ( ) is a legendary European culture hero celebrated as an icon of beer, brewing, joviality, and '' joie de vivre''. Typical representations in the visual arts depict him as a rotund, bearded duke or king, holding a tankard or mug, a ...

* Radegast * Velkopopovický Kozel *

* Lech * Dreher * Ursus * Carlton & United Breweries

Asahi Beer Hall

Asahi Breweries' headquarters in Tokyo were designed by French designer Philippe Starck. The Beer Hall is considered one of Tokyo's most recognizable modern structures.

References

External links

* * Wiki collection of bibliographic works on Asahi Breweries {{authority control Beer brands of Japan Alcoholic drink companies Japanese brands Multinational breweries Soft drinks manufacturers Food and drink companies established in 1889 Multinational companies headquartered in Japan Japanese companies established in 1889 Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies in the Nikkei 225

History

Brands

Asahi Beer Hall

See also

References

External links