Source: The Wall Street Journal
As far as beer goes, I am far from being a fan of Bud Light. Personally, I’d rather have a Samuel Adams, Sierra Nevada, Heineken, Sapporo, Asahi, Kirin, etc… rather than a Bud Light, which is, to my amazement, the world’s top-selling brand of beer. Well, in the near future, that might no longer be true… it might be Snow Beer. Snow Beer, WTF? The Wall Street Journal reports in “From China, a New Challenger to the King of Beers,”:
“Though the Chinese drink less beer per person than Americans or Europeans, China’s beer market has been the world’s largest for the past six years and is growing 10% a year, according to Euromonitor. Snow’s rapid growth illustrates the promise of China’s vast consumer base… Snow is competing against savvy rivals such as Tsingtao, which benefits from partial ownership by marketing juggernaut Anheuser, says Shaun Rein, managing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group. “Tsingtao already has great brand recognition,” says Mr. Rein. He adds that Snow’s “countrywide marketing campaigns also need a lot of work.”
I had heard of Tsingtao, and have it on rare occasions (usually in a Chinese restaurant where it is most commonly offered), but Snow Beer? That just sounds like a poorly translated product into English if you ask me… Has anyone tried Snow Beer? Hopefully, it’s better than Bud Light, if it is going to be the new “king” of beers. I’m guessing that in the near future, almost every brand of everything in China will be “the most popular” in the world, given China’s large population and economic growth. So here’s to “It’s Snow Beer for you!”
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Yan wrote:
Snow Beer is actually a better translation for its actual name (Snowflake Beer…roughly translated it’s Snow Flower).
I’ve seen it in random Chinese bars, but since I’m not a beer person, I’ve never had it.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 12:55 am | Permalink
darkmoon wrote:
How is it poorly translated? It says friggin’ “snow” on the side of the can. In both English and Chinese.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 5:07 am | Permalink
yoko wrote:
More accurately, the first two characters on the can are “snow flower.” which may not market well in the States at least.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 5:20 am | Permalink
John wrote:
@darkmoon - I said “it sounds like” - I didn’t mean it *was* poorly translated. I.E. It does not sound like a brand that transcend China, like Sony, Nokia, etc… or until recently, Samsung, or a better example, Heineken.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 5:58 am | Permalink
Nathanlivesinchengdu wrote:
Snow beer is a good beer given the fact it is heavily produced. While living in Chengdu, this is all I drank. In fact the Sichuan people are rabid about Snow as their exclusive provincial beer. Tsingtao and Snow are the only beers you will fine outside foreign beers there. This is how most of China’s beers work. Harbin brand etc..
Snow > Bud Light And considering I was paying $1 for the equivalent of a 6 pack, drink UP!
Posted on 20-Nov-08 at 2:05 pm | Permalink
Snow[fall] Rising | Mutineer Magazine wrote:
[...] Photo from 8Asians.com [...]
Posted on 21-Nov-08 at 3:31 pm | Permalink