Coopers puts Premium on new look Sapporo

By Andrew Starke

Over 200 invited guests gathered at Sydney’s Cruise Bar on Tuesday night (Oct 4) to enjoy the first taste of Sapporo Premium Beer as brewed in Australia by Coopers Brewery.

For many, it was also the first glimpse at the new packaging concept, which features an illustration of a Japanese landscape but maintains a contemporary feel with the use of black and silver and the brand’s iconic gold star.

In attendance were general manager of Premium Beverages Mark Goulmy and manager of sales at Sapporo International Fumio Kigure as representatives of the brands.

The contract between Coopers, Premium Beverages and Sapporo was signed at the Sapporo headquarters in Tokyo, Japan earlier this year.

"The Sapporo brand is a good fit for our business and when you couple our (Premium Beverages) market capability with the strength of the Sapporo brand you can appreciate that our expectations for future growth are understandably high," said Goulmy.

"We are relaunching the Sapporo Premium brand with the new international label design and have worked with Sapporo to develop the six-pack and carton graphics which are unique to the Australian market.

"These designs have been produced to reflect and communicate the history and quality of the Sapporo brand."

Under the terms of the agreement, Coopers began brewing Sapporo Premium Beer at its Regency Park brewery in Adelaide with interstate sales and distribution undertaken by Coopers' subsidiary Premium Beverages.

Premium Beverages was established in 2003 as a joint venture business between Coopers Brewery and American Beverages Distributors, the former distributor of Budweiser in Australia.

Sapporo is now available in 355 ml bottles, 650 ml cans and 50 litre keg.

Click on the video below for a short interview with Premium Beverages marketing manager, Ary Ganeshalingam.