Recently, Qingdao Beer officially released the upgraded classic 1903 and ultra dry series products, with the 100% whole wheat brewed 1903 becoming the core highlight of this update. Against the backdrop of a stable overall volume and structural upgrading becoming the main trend in the beer industry, this product upgrade, which is positioned as a mid to high end mainstay, is a key bottleneck for Qingdao Beer in the 8-10 yuan core price range.
8-10 yuan: The fastest growing price range in the beer industry
In the current consumer environment, 8-10 yuan has become the central level that balances rational pricing and perceived quality. According to the January 2026 research report of First Venture Securities, the price range of 8-10 yuan is currently the fastest expanding sub high end range; Qince Consumer Research also proposes that the rapid expansion of the 8-10 yuan sub high end has become the new mainstream, and the beer industry is shifting from "price to quantity" to "structural value competition".
The top brands have gradually settled down. The sales proportion of CR Beer's second highest and above products is close to 25%, and the management believes that the industry's high-end transformation has entered the "second half". Yanjing Beer has achieved a sharp increase in profits with the U8 priced at 8 yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 59.06% in net profit attributable to the parent company in 2025. In March of this year, Yanjing A10 full malt beer priced at 8 yuan was launched.
Budweiser Asia Pacific, on the other hand, has experienced a "vacancy". During an internal review, it was pointed out that the company's mid to high end (8-yuan price range) products currently account for about 15% of China's beer sales, with rapid growth but "almost no representative products", missing out on the industry's fastest-growing segment market of 8-10 yuan. In 2025, Budweiser Asia Pacific's sales in the Chinese market decreased by 8.6% year-on-year, and its revenue decreased by 11.3% year-on-year.
The main products of Qingdao Beer in this price range include 1903, draft beer, and white beer, among which 1903 is the core single product. Upgrading it to 100% whole wheat brewing this time is an attempt to further consolidate its competitive advantage in the mid to high end base market during the window period when competitors are intensifying and giants are absent.
The situation of Qingdao Beer: structural optimization but pressure on ton price
In 2025, Qingdao Beer's revenue will be 32.473 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.04%; Net profit was 4.588 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%; The sales volume of the product was 7.648 million kiloliters, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. From the perspective of product structure, the sales of Qingdao Beer's main brand increased by 3.5%, and the sales of mid to high end and above products increased by 5.2%, indicating a clear feature of structural upgrading. The sales of classic series and white beer have reached a historic high, with white beer ranking first in the industry's white beer category.
In terms of profit quality, the gross profit margin of the company's Qingdao brand reached 46.84%, an increase of 0.84 percentage points year-on-year, far higher than the gross profit margin level of 29.57% of other brands. The overall gross profit margin of the company was 41.72%, an increase of 1.61 percentage points year-on-year. However, according to a research report by Changjiang Securities, the company's ton price in 2025 has slightly decreased by 0.4% year-on-year, especially in the fourth quarter when the ton price dropped by 2.4%.
The upgrading of the product structure of eoe Beer Enterprise is the main logic of the industry. "1903 belongs to the mid to high end main products of Qingdao Beer, and this revitalization is essentially a quality upgrade and reputation improvement, with the aim of attracting more consumers. In 2026, structure will still be the main driving force for ton price
Coping with stock competition: strengthening classics and cultivating new product categories
The market position of Tsingtao Beer remains stable. As the world's fifth largest beer manufacturer, it has nearly 60 production enterprises in China, and its leading position is difficult to shake in the short term. However, the challenge is also realistic: the competition in the beer industry is intensifying, and the performance of various leading companies is differentiated. Budweiser Asia Pacific's sales in the Chinese market in 2025 decreased by 8.6% year-on-year, and its revenue in the Chinese market decreased by 11.3% year-on-year; In 2025, the net profit of China Resources Beer fell by nearly 30%, but it was mainly affected by the goodwill impairment of Baijiu business. The sales of beer products with the second highest level and above accounted for nearly 25%. Although Qingdao Beer's net profit increased by 5.6% for the whole year, its net loss in the fourth quarter was 686 million yuan.
In the stage of stock competition, top enterprises need to open up new growth points through diversified business. Qingdao Beer is exploring cutting-edge fields such as "beer+biology+health", cultivating new categories and tracks such as whole wheat, craft beer, zero sugar light truck, and non-alcoholic low alcohol.
Beer industry analyst Fang Gang said that the high-end transformation of the beer industry has entered the deep water area of "intensive cultivation" from "racing to enclosure", and simply raising prices is no longer sustainable. Tsingtao Beer is shifting towards a structural layout of "full scene coverage+full audience reach", shifting from "price increase driven" to "structural value competition", consolidating its foundation with Whole Wheat 1903 and entering the healthy track with ultra dry card positions.
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