Asahi Succumbs to Competition to Pare Back Its Line of Canned "Strong" Spirits
Japan's ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage industry is trending toward lower alcohol by volume but still offers plenty of cheap options for binge drinkers.
What’s new: On January 26, 2024, Asahi Breweries announced plans to reduce the alcohol content to less than 8% for its line of shōchū highball (焼酎ハイボール) ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails in a can, which are commonly abbreviated as canned chuhai in Japanese.
Context: So-called “strong-type” RTDs have been a force in the industry since the early 1980s.
Definitions: Japanese shochu is a distilled spirit made from grains and vegetables such as sweet potato, barley, rice, buckwheat and sugarcane. Ready-to-drink (RTD) canned chuhai options with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 8% or higher are classified as "strong-type" drinks in Japan. They are available in 350-500 ml (11.8~16.9 oz.) cans for as little as 100~200 yen (approx. US $0.68~1.35). This type of cocktail is popular not only among young people with little money, but also among adults who want to get an instant buzz by chugging the drink. Each 500ml can (e.g., 9% ABV) contains about 36 grams (about 1.3 oz.) of alcohol, which is equivalent to about 3.75 shot glasses of tequila (some data also show that a 350ml can is equivalent to a cup of sake).
Early Days: Takara Shuzo's "Takara Can Chuhai," Japan's first RTD canned chuhai, was 8% ABV when it was first released in 1984. The year before, in 1983, Suntory released "Taco High," a carbonated version of the recently revived "Kou-Soju" type shochu, which had an ABV of 7%.
Percent Matters: Even a 1% increase in alcohol content is likely to increase the drinker's expectation of immediate intoxication. In 2009, Suntory introduced "Strong Zero," a canned chuhai with an ABV of 8%. In 2014, the company increased the alcohol content to 9%, with the goal of "making it possible to get tipsy after drinking just one bottle." It is somewhat surprising that this kind of somewhat incriminating market information would be released by their marketing team. The year before, in 2013, Kirin also changed the alcohol content of its "Hyoketsu Strong" lemon chuhai from 8% to 9%.
Stealth Effect of the Alcohol Content: While there are many drinks with relatively high ABV such as sake and whiskey available throughout the country, the so-called "danger" of strong-type RTDs lies in the fact that they go down as smoothly as a glass of juice. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare defines "high-risk drinking" as more than 40 grams (1.4 oz.) of pure alcohol per day for men and more than 20 grams (0.7 oz.) of pure alcohol per day for women. The amount of alcohol contained in a 500 ml can of a strong type (9% alcohol by volume) is about 36 grams (1.3 oz.), which means that a woman can reach the danger zone with only one can, and the threshold for men is close to this level.
Binge Drinking Culture: Sake and whiskey with high alcohol content are usually enjoyed chibichibi (ちびちび) or a little at a time to savor the taste and/or experience. Strong-type RTDs are, however, often chugged all at once. The smell of alcohol in whiskey and sake makes it difficult to drink in one gulp, but the artificial sweeteners such as liquid sugar (gum syrup), acesulfame K, and sucralose in strong-type RTDs make them easy to consume. This means that if you drink two 500 ml cans, you will put the same amount of alcohol into your body as if you drank seven and a half glasses of tequila. Drinking such an amount of alcohol could certainly lead to acute alcohol poisoning, and it is natural that people are concerned about the health risks.
What’s happening: Strong-type RTDs are cheap. For example, seven shots of tequila in a pub or bar will cost 3,500 yen ($23.63), or about 500 yen ($3.38) per shot. However, if you want to drink a strong-type chuhai, you only need 500 yen, which is the price of only one shot of tequila. That is why young people who do not have the money to go to an izakaya, a Japanese-style pub, drink it all the time. It has gotten to the point where strong-type RTDs have become the drink of choice for the so-called "Toyoko Kids," teenagers and 20 somethings who hang out in the back alleys around the Shinjuku Toho Building in Kabukicho1. They prefer to drink strong-type RTDs with a straw, which makes it even easier to get inebriated quickly.
This is a relatively recent development. Before the rise of strong-type RTDs, the cheap drink of choice among the Toyoko Kids tended to be a beer-derivative with a low tax rate called happoshu (発泡酒), which used to be a big seller in convenience stores as a cheaper alternative to canned beer. However, even young people who did not know what liquor tasted like knew that happoshu was an inferior "beer imitation.” Since these types of drinks have a low alcohol content, you had to drink several cans or bottles to get drunk. Plus, for many people the taste of these drinks was not very good. Thus, it was difficult—literally--to stomach several cans or bottles of "bad tasting" beer substitutes to get a buzz going. Just as Colt 45 High Gravity2 has traditionally been the go-to, relatively inexpensive choice to get high in the U.S., strong-type RTDs offer a quick-acting option with superior kosutopa or “cost performance.” Many of these young drinkers--some of whom are underage--manage to get quite drunk after drinking just one can of a strong-type RTD.
With a wide variety of flavors like lemon, grape, lime, and sweet or dry flavors, it is easy for young people who are not used to drinking alcohol to get hooked. I can be said that strong-type canned chuhai drinks are the alcohol equivalent of vaping.
Why it matters: Asahi's decision to reduce the ABV of its remaining line of strong-type canned chuhai may be indicative of a growing trend. While the battle for survival in the RTD market is as fierce as ever, Asahi's competitors may soon follow suit.
Asahi's decision to trim its product portfolio is also indicative of what it takes to gain a competitive edge in a market dominated by competitors with deep pockets. Asahi has effectively exited the high ABV RTD category. Its only remaining offering in the category is Clear Cooler STRONG Lemon & Lime Sour, a 9% ABV product produced in partnership with Seven-Eleven. Since sales of this particular drink are limited to Seven-Eleven convenience stores, the potential for significantly increasing national market share is capped. Thus, Asahi has essentially ceded its market share to competitors such as Suntory, Coca-Cola, and Kirin.
Asahi intends to continue to focus on another product segment of RTDs with lower alcohol content. From 2021, the company has been positioning its "Luxury Sour" series, which contains more than 10% grape and apple juice and only 4% ABV, as its core brand.
By the numbers: The latest data for the market of canned chuhai RTDs, including highballs, expanded during the global pandemic, but still only generated 533.3 billion yen ($3.6 billion) of sales in 2021. Products with a strength of 8% ABV or higher accounted for about 25% of this market. That is 40% less than the high water mark in terms of market share by high ABV RTDs that was recorded back in 2005.
What they’re saying: For the past 5 years there have been many questions about RTDs with high ABV.
Critical Media Coverage Caused a Backlash: In 2017, when the share of high ABV products in the canned chuhai market was 40% higher than it is today, News Watch 9, a nationally televised program with high ratings, reported on the dangers of strong-type canned chuhai. At the time, Suntory's "Strong Zero" was the market leader, and images of the drink were all over the internet and popular literature. The category became a scapegoat for those critical of aggressive marketing campaigns, which were said to target the poor and cause alcohol addiction. Furthermore, at the end of 2018, Akutagawa Prize-winning3 author Hitomi Kanehara published a short story called "Strong Zero" in the literary magazine Shincho, about a female editor who becomes addicted to the drink of the same name with an ABV of 9% to escape the pressures of her job. This work brought unwanted attention to strong-type RTDs.
The criticism continues to this day.
"Strong ZERO should be regulated as a 'dangerous drug.’” - Toshihiko Matsumoto, a leading researcher on drug dependence and director of the Center for Drug Dependence, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, commenting in 2019
What’s next: While Asahi may be on to something among Japanese suppliers, similar drinks sold abroad may be making inroads in the Japanese market. It remains to be seen whether the most popular spirit-based RTDs sold abroad will ever catch on in Japan. Based on trends in the U.S., where RTD cocktails such as Cutwater Spirits Elderflower Vodka Spritz and spirit-based RTDs such as White Claw Hard Seltzer reign supreme, it would be wise to keep an eye on these American brands.
Link to Japanese Sources: https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/730873 and https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/730974
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The "Toyoko Kids" refer to a group of young people, including runaways and those seeking community, who are marginalized and often found in the Kabukicho nightlife district of Tokyo (think Tokyo Vice). They have formed a unique subculture and are known for their alternative, punk, and grunge fashion. Many of them have faced neglect, abuse, or feel disconnected from their families, leading them to run away and seek refuge in this community.
Alcohol by volume (ABV) of 8.5%.
The Akutagawa Prize is a highly esteemed Japanese literary award presented biannually, in January and July, to the best serious literary story published in a newspaper or magazine.