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The Asian beer with big ambitions Asahi is battling to become Europe’s number one Asian beer. The United Kingdom is one of the world’s famous beer cultures, with a very particular taste for thick ales brewed locally. Most of the lager consumed in the country is already imported, not just from other European countries but from around the world. In the past few years, pubs and trendy bars have increasingly become a hot market for premium, more fashionable brands.
Under the leadership of Managing Director Tad Nakai, who has overseen the company’s fortunes in Europe since its inception, sales have grown from 5,800 to 54,000 hectoliters a year. The key factor has been the launch of manufacturing facilities in the Czech Republic in January 2000, which has revealed the true taste of a fresh Asahi to European consumers. Tad Nakai is not light-headed from this dizzying success. Now that Asahi has raised itself to the number two position among Asian beers in Europe, it has its sights on the top position currently held by Singapore’s Tiger beer. Given the relentlessness with which Asahi has been gaining market share across the continent in the past few years, there is no doubt that an exciting battle at the top has begun.
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Tad Nakai, managing director of Asahi Beer Europe 