By Annette Shailer
An Australian-owned beer delivery service took out the business promotion award at the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce (AustCham) Business Awards in Beijing last Thursday (Dec 3).
JustBeer began in Shanghai in 2007 with the founders believing local beers didn’t quite measure up to what they were used to, and with a lack of choice in imported products, they decided to try their hand at importing and marketing Australian beers.
JustBeer is now the exclusive importers into China of iconic Australian brands, including Fosters, VB, Crown Lager, James Boag’s Premium, Cascade Premium, Redback and Pure Blonde.
JustBeer Founder, Frank Li, said he was keen to maintain the pace of the company’s expansion.
“In just over two-and-a-half years we have gone from nothing to a turnover approaching 3 million RMB this calendar year,” Li said.
“To keep up with the pace of demand we have just signed a new office and warehouse deal in Shanghai with a goal of doubling turnover in 2010.”
Austrade’s Shanghai-based senior trade commissioner, Christopher Wright, said that JustBeer’s success indicated the potential China’s rising middle class offered to Australian products.
“With GDP growth expected to reach 8.5 percent in 2009, and Goldman Sachs recently predicting the Chinese middle class would reach 70 per cent by 2020, consumer demand will continue to diversify and JustBeer are proving that you don’t need to compete on price if you can bring quality new products to market,” Wright said.