HiteJinro began producing canned Kirin “Ichiban Shibori” beer at its Jeonju plant in response to rising demand for Japanese beer, with initial production targeted at approximately 1.5 million litres.
HiteJinro, a leading South Korean beverage company, entered into a technology partnership agreement with Kirin Holdings and began producing canned Kirin “Ichiban Shibori” beer at its Jeonju plant.
Initial domestic production is expected to be approximately 1.5 million litres, and the plan is to produce 75% of total sales volume domestically next year. Kirin’s production methods, ingredients, processes and quality-control standards will be applied to reproduce the taste and quality of the Japanese product.
Before production began, trial production was repeated, and shipments were sent to Japan to verify compliance with quality standards through sensory testing and quantitative analysis. Production is expected to shorten the supply period and stabilise local supply.
The move comes against a backdrop of rising demand for Japanese beer in South Korea. Distribution associated with imports of Japanese products previously took approximately 1.5 months, but this is expected to be shortened to around 1–2 weeks going forward.