New Belgium will take over production of Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light in the U.S. when the Japanese lager brand’s contract brewing agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) expires later this year, New Belgium announced today. New Belgium is a subsidiary of Kirin-owned, Australian-based Lion.
A-B will continue to brew and distribute the Kirin brands through the end of 2024.
Starting in January 2025, New Belgium will begin marketing, sales and production of Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light at its facilities in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Asheville, North Carolina. The company is working to “identify any potential distributor alignment needs that may arise in early 2025,” according to a New Belgium spokesperson.
Shaun Belongie, New Belgium CEO, thanked Kirin in the announcement “for entrusting New Belgium as stewards of Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light across the United States.”
“We’re excited to grow our production portfolio and we’re confident in our capacity to expand upon the success of these powerful brands,” he said.
Masakazu Ashida, Kirin Brewery GM of overseas business department, added: “We appreciate Anheuser-Busch’s many years of strong business partnership supporting Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light in the U.S. Moving these brands to New Belgium is a logical decision as we consider the strategic direction of our business in the U.S for years to come. We are grateful for all parties’ collaboration and commitment to ensuring continued success of our brands during this time of transition.”
Kirin’s U.S. brewing and distribution arrangement with A-B began in 1996. In August 2006, A-B announced an expansion of its “10-year alliance” with Kirin, taking over marketing and sales for the Kirin brands, while Kirin retained the trademarks for its brands.
At the time, Kirin’s beers were brewed at A-B’s Los Angeles brewery and distributed by the company’s 600 distributors. A Facebook page states that the beer brands are “brewed under Kirin’s strict supervision … in Los Angeles, CA and Williamsburg, VA.”
Kirin-Lion is the eighth largest beer category vendor year-to-date (YTD) through June 16 in off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Circana. Off-premise dollar sales increased +14.6%, to $318.66 million, through mid-June, while volume grew +12% in retail scans tracked by the firm. Kirin-Lion holds a 1.58 share of beer category dollar sales in 2024.
Off-premise sales of Kirin Ichiban increased +28.3%, to nearly $3.3 million, in NIQ-tracked channels YTD through June 15. However, Kirin Light sales declined -11.4%, to $184,312, in the same period, the firm reported.
Japanese beer giant Kirin acquired New Belgium in November 2019. Lion acquired Bell’s Brewery in November 2021.
New Belgium will be able to take on the extra production as it continues to expand its capacity, including the 2023 acquisition of a 259,000 sq. ft. facility in Daleville, Virginia, originally built by Constellation Brands in 2017.