Cass, Official Olympic Partner 'Wings'... Accelerating Non-Alcoholic Market Expansion

Cass, First Domestic Alcohol Industry Official Olympic Partner
Olympic Marketing Intensifies with 'Cass Pocha' Operation in Paris
Non-Alcoholic 'Cass Zero' Strengthens Targeting of Various Time Slots and Consumers

OB Beer’s 'Cass' is celebrating its 30th anniversary by participating as an official sponsor brand of the '2024 Paris Olympics.' OB Beer plans to leverage its status as the first official Olympic partner in the domestic alcoholic beverage industry to also take the lead in the rapidly growing non-alcoholic beverage market.

On the morning of the 26th, OB Beer held a press conference at the Grand Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, where it announced Cass’s marketing plans for the Paris Olympics as an official partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Cass, the first official Olympic partner brand in the alcoholic beverage industry, held an event commemorating the '2024 Paris Olympics' partnership on the 26th at the Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul. Bae Hajun, CEO of OB Beer (center), along with sports stars Yoo Namgyu, Kim Sunyoung, and Kwak Yoonki, are cheering. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Cass Selected as Olympic Partner: "Full-Scale Olympic Marketing Launch"

As the first official Olympic partner in the domestic alcoholic beverage industry, OB Beer plans to strengthen Olympic marketing both domestically and internationally from before the opening of the Games through the event period, featuring 'Cass Fresh' and the non-alcoholic beverage 'Cass 0.0 (Zero).' This Olympics will be held mainly in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11.

Baek Ha-jun, CEO of OB Beer, said, "Cass has actively participated as an official sponsor in global sports events such as the World Cup, MLB, and LCK, engaging with various sports fans worldwide. Through this Olympic partnership, we hope to unite people’s hearts to cheer on the athletes and create more moments of friendship and harmony."

Bae Ha-jun, CEO of OB Beer, attending the OB Beer Cass '2024 Paris Olympics' partnership commemorative event held on the 26th.

Cass’s Olympic campaign will be in full swing starting at the end of this month. After releasing the 'Olympic Edition' of Cass Fresh and Cass 0.0 last month, OB Beer plans to support the Olympics with TV commercials and influencer collaborations this month. Additionally, they will showcase the group SEVENTEEN’s Boo Seoksoon, the star of the '2024 Paris Olympic Team Korea Cheer Song' titled 'Fighting Haeyaji,' along with AI cheer video services and limited-edition merchandise.

Cass’s Olympic marketing will also take place on the ground in Paris. During the Olympics, Cass will operate 'Cass Pocha' at the 'Korea House' near the Eiffel Tower, themed around Korean alcoholic beverage culture, to widely promote the status of Korea’s representative beer. Seo Hye-yeon, Vice President of National Brand at OB Beer, said, "Cass Pocha will be remembered as another wave of Hallyu (Korean Wave). Please look forward to the performance of Korea’s representative beer on the global stage."

Seizing the Non-Alcoholic Market with Olympic Partner Title... Opportunity from Liquor License Law Amendment

OB Beer Vice President Seo Hye-yeon, Head of National Brand, is announcing Cass's Olympic marketing plan at the OB Beer Cass '2024 Paris Olympics' partnership commemorative event held on the 26th.

OB Beer emphasized that Cass Zero is the first non-alcoholic beverage from an alcoholic beverage brand to be designated as an official global partner drink of the Olympics, expressing its intention to expand market share in the non-alcoholic beer market. Vice President Seo said, "Since Olympic events take place at various times, it is a great opportunity for diverse consumer groups to encounter Cass in different times and situations."

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, drinking culture has rapidly changed, with younger consumers increasingly embracing lighter drinking habits and the 'healthy pleasure' trend boosting attention to the non-alcoholic beverage market. According to global market research firm Euromonitor, the domestic non-alcoholic beer market, which was around 8.1 billion KRW in 2014, expanded to 20 billion KRW in 2021. The industry expects this market to grow to approximately 60 billion KRW this year and up to 200 billion KRW next year.

As the first official Olympic partner brand in the alcoholic beverage industry, Cass held an event on the 26th at the Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul to commemorate its partnership with the '2024 Paris Olympics.' Models are posing in front of the commemorative sculpture at the event. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

As the market shows growth, industry movements including OB Beer’s are becoming more active. OB Beer officially entered the non-alcoholic beverage market in October 2020 with the launch of Cass Zero, and by August 2022?just 10 months after launch?it achieved a 29.7% market share, becoming the first to rank number one in the home-use non-alcoholic beverage market. Since then, it has maintained about a 30% share, holding the top position through the first quarter of this year. OB Beer has also launched premium non-alcoholic beverages such as 'Budweiser Zero' and 'Hoegaarden Zero,' securing dominance in the home-use non-alcoholic beverage market.

At the end of last month, OB Beer introduced a new 330mL bottle version of Cass Zero, officially launching a two-track strategy to capture both the home-use and entertainment markets. With demand for non-alcoholic products continuing to rise, the company aims to boost sales further by promoting bottled products consumed in the entertainment market, which accounts for about half of liquor sales. Vice President Seo said, "Looking at the global market recently, the growth rate of the non-alcoholic beverage market is higher than that of alcoholic beverages. We expect this trend to continue in Korea as well, so OB Beer will invest in and introduce products aligned with the health and wellness trend."

Meanwhile, the recent promulgation of the amendment to the 'Enforcement Decree of the Liquor License Act' allowing non-alcoholic beverages to be sold in general restaurants is expected to accelerate this trend. Previously, comprehensive liquor wholesalers supplying alcoholic beverages to restaurants could only distribute alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of 1% or higher. As a result, non-alcoholic beer was neglected in the dining-out market and sold only in the home-use market. However, with the amendment, liquor wholesalers can now supply not only alcoholic beverages but also non-alcoholic beverages to restaurants, creating an environment for more intense competition in the non-alcoholic market.