Jeju Beer announced on the 25th that it has secured entry into Russia’s warehouse-style store ‘METRO Cash&Carry’ as part of its efforts to actively target overseas markets for business normalization.
This entry is notable for introducing Jeju Beer’s non-alcoholic beer, ‘Jeju Nuvo,’ targeting the rapidly growing non-alcoholic beer market in Russia, a country traditionally known for its high-alcohol vodka.
It is expected to be a strategic opportunity to accelerate Jeju Beer’s entry into the Russian market by targeting not only young consumers seeking low-alcohol and diverse new beer flavors but also a wide range of consumer segments.
METRO Cash&Carry is a global distributor operating in over 30 countries worldwide, starting in Germany in 1964. In Russia, it began operations in Moscow in 2000 and currently runs 93 shopping centers across 51 regions, including the large METRO CITY supermarket in Kotelniki.
Similar to Korea’s E-Mart Traders and Costco, it operates as a membership-based warehouse store and is popular for offering a variety of products at reasonable prices to B2B customers such as retailers, restaurants, and hotels. Through this entry, Jeju Beer plans to offer Russian consumers the unique taste of Jeju Beer.
With the global spread of the health-conscious lifestyle ‘Healthy Pleasure,’ demand for non-alcoholic beverages is rapidly increasing. In particular, non-alcoholic beer has recorded an average annual growth rate of over 12% since 2020, and in 2023, non-alcoholic beer sales in Russia accounted for about 5% of the total beer market, with growth expected to continue.
A Jeju Beer official stated, “Although Russia is famous for high-alcohol vodka, beer sales account for more than 40% of the entire alcoholic beverage market in Russia,” adding, “Through entry into METRO Cash&Carry, we aim to increase Jeju Beer’s brand awareness in the Russian beer market and capture Russian consumers’ tastes with strategies tailored to consumer needs. We ask for your interest and support and will continue to strive for global market expansion in the future.”
Meanwhile, Jeju Beer is making efforts to normalize management, including acquiring shares in ‘AgeGF,’ the parent company of ‘Olgot,’ the world’s number one frozen gimbap company.
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