Heineken, a Netherlands-based international brewing company, announced last Thursday its entry into the non-beer alcoholic beverage market in Taiwan by introducing sparkling wine and spirits to expand its brand influence.
Having operated in Taiwan for over 20 years, Heineken became the first international brewer to own a local brewery there in 2022. Its move reflected a positive outlook on Taiwan’s non-beer alcoholic beverage market.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, whiskey and wine consistently ranked as the top two imported alcoholic beverages by value over the past decade, fueling demand growth.
Furthermore, IWSR data indicated that over the past five years, the annual growth rate of imported sparkling wine in Taiwan reached 9.7%. Additionally, Taiwan Customs reported that the import value of sparkling wine rose from US$3.889 million in 2014 to US$6.921 million in 2023, reflecting a significant growth rate of 79.77%. This substantial increase highlighted Taiwan’s strong enthusiasm for sparkling wine.
Heineken Taiwan observed that while beer accounted for 86% of the alcohol market in Taiwan by sales volume, non-beer products such as wine and spirits represented a market share value of up to 57%, underscoring their significant importance in the alcoholic beverages sector.
The brewer prioritized wine and spirits in Taiwan due to their valuable characteristics, aiming to cater to three key scenarios: solitary relaxation, group gatherings, and high-quality social interactions, thereby enriching its product portfolio with a diverse range of options.
Heineken would introduce three wines to the Taiwan market: Nederburg, Pongrácz, and Bernini Classic, with the latter two being sparkling. Bernini Classic, an off-dry sparkling white wine with 4.5% ABV, is packaged in a beer bottle-like container with a zip-top cap, designed to appeal to younger consumers and suitable for both personal enjoyment and social occasions.
All three wine brands originated from Distell Group Holdings, a South African wine and spirits producer. Heineken announced its acquisition of Distell in 2021 for 40.1 billion South African Rand (US$ 26 billion) and completed the acquisition in 2023.
Heineken remains optimistic about the Taiwanese market’s preference for high-end alcoholic beverages. Vino Joy News previously reported that Taiwan’s wine import value reached NTD 8.3 billion (US$ 255.65 million) in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 8% over the past decade.
However, the scale of wine imports in Taiwan showed a downward trend over the past two years. According to customs data, the volume of wine imported into Taiwan in containers of 2 liters or less decreased by 5.58% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Regarding this trend, Sarah Liao, a Taiwanese professional who promoted EU wines, believed that the decrease in import volume did not indicate a reduction in market size; consumer interest in wine remained relatively high.
“Wine consumption in Taiwan increased during the pandemic, prompting many wine merchants to expand their imports. As the market matured, it remained stable over the past two years. The decrease in imports was simply due to the market needing to clear out inventory from previous years,” she said.
As for the popularity of sparkling in Taiwan, Liu Rizhong, Managing Director of Grand Jin Yue Fine Wine Co., Ltd. under Alliance Art Group, one of China’s top 50 wine importers, commented: “In recent years, there’s been a noticeable trend toward sparkling wine in Taiwan, thanks to some enthusiastic wine merchants. Plus, with Taiwan’s warm weather and relatively low taxes, consumers are happy to spend on sparkling wines like Prosecco, which are quite affordable.”
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