Sapporo : Launch of Sapporo Premium Beer Exports to China

September 20, 2018

Launch of Sapporo Premium Beer Exports to China

Aiming to establish brand presence in China through collaboration with ABI

Sapporo Breweries Ltd. (the "Company") will resume its exports to China from October 2018 and make full-fledged entry into the Chinese market. In aiming to establish its brand presence in China, the Company will designate Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. ("ABI")1 as the Master Distributor and commence sales consignments for Sapporo Premium Beer which is already being sold in North America, Asia, and Europe.

China is the largest beer consuming country on the globe2 and its premium segment of this market inclusive of imported beer brands is in particular continuing to exhibit dramatic growth. The Company also intends to gain a foothold in this market segment and expand its distribution channels. Given the recent popularity of Japanese brands fueled by growth of the Japanese food market and the increase in foreign tourists to Japan, the Company has determined that now is the right time to re-enter the market and launch sales consignments through a master distributor contract with ABI that commands a dominating market presence in the premium segment.

The Company is targeting sales of one million cases (20 x 633ml bottles・120KHL) in 2022 through collaboration with ABI and aims to establish its brand in the expanding Chinese market.

Products scheduled for sales launch:

Product name:	Sapporo Premium Beer
Packaging:	330ml bottles, 650ml cans, 20L kegs
Sales date and areas:	Early November 2018 in cities mainly on along China's eastern seaboard,
including Shanghai and Beijing

Note 1: ABI's wholly-owned subsidiary Anheuser-Busch InBev (Shanghai) Beer Sales Co., Ltd. is the contracting party.

Note 2: Source: Brewers Association of Japan website