Asahi’s flagship brand Asahi Super Dry will get an updated packaging and a change in its recipe for the first time since its debut 35 years ago.
On Thursday Asahi Breweries announced that the new formula preserves the beer's signature crispness while delivering a stronger aroma through a technique called "late hopping," This technique requires adding hops toward the end of the boiling process which means that more aromatic hop components are kept in the wort and later become part of the finished beer.
Asahi Super Dry was an instant success when launched in 1987. Annual sales had topped 100 million cases by its third year as it quickly became the bestselling beer in the country. However, in recent years the brand has lost momentum and Asahi fell behind Kirin as Japan's largest seller of beer in 2020, according to Nielsen data. Last year the trend continued and sales of Super Dry went down to 60.82 million cases, or over 30% less than its peak in 2000.
That is why Asahi’s President Kenichi Shiozawa has now initiated a plan for action. Next to the reformulation of the product, the all-new Super Dry will also feature updated packaging. The company is planning its largest advertising blitz for Super Dry since 2001 to support the renewed product which will hit shelves next month.
