Paulaner targets number one in China as F1 returns with a sharper, more commercial edge

390-year-old German brewery reports 23.8% China growth and sets its sights on leading the market – backed by a new generation of Chinese consumers and a Formula 1 platform built for exactly this moment.

SHANGHAI – Formula 1’s return to China is being framed as a comeback story. It is something far more interesting than that. The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix revealed a market re-engaging with a sharper, more commercial edge – and for German premium beer brand Paulaner, Official Supplier of the Audi Revolut F1 Team, the moment aligns precisely with its own ambitions. Paulaner recorded 23.8% growth in China in 2025 – its fastest-growing export market globally – as total group beverage sales rose 13.8% to 7.9 million hectolitres. Currently ranked third among international premium beer brands in China, the brand is targeting number one within two to three years.

“China is our fastest-growing market and one of the most exciting beer markets in the world. Audi’s goal is to become the Formula 1 world champion. Ours is to reach the top in China. That is what we have in common.”

– Jörg Biebernick, CEO, Paulaner Brewery Group

What has changed is the audience. Chinese consumers engaging with Formula 1 are younger, digitally native and attuned to global sport as a lifestyle. Formula 1 is functioning exactly as designed: a global platform connecting brands with emerging audiences at scale. Paulaner’s presence – on Audi F1 team helmets and in paddock hospitality as the team’s exclusive drinks supplier – places it at the centre of a calendar spanning more than 20 markets.

“China holds a special place in Paulaner’s global story. The growth we have seen here is not just a number – it reflects a genuine connection between Chinese consumers and what Paulaner represents: quality, heritage and the Bavarian way of life. Being in Shanghai, at the Formula 1, is exactly where Paulaner belongs.”

– Florian Schörghuber, CEO, Schörghuber Group, majority shareholder of Paulaner Brewery Group

Paulaner’s 23.8% growth is all the more significant given that China’s consumer market is only now fully re-emerging after years of COVID-related disruption, a testament to more than a decade of brand-building in the market and a signal of the scale of what lies ahead. Both CEOs travelled to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix – the race’s second year back after a five-year absence – meeting leading Chinese business and financial media as a signal of how central this market has become to Paulaner’s global strategy.

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About Paulaner Brewery Group

Founded in Munich in 1634, Paulaner has brewed according to the German Purity Law for nearly four centuries. The Paulaner brand family exports to more than 80 countries and recorded total group sales of 7.9 million hectolitres in 2025. Paulaner is a founding member of the Oktoberfest tradition and the Official Supplier of the Audi Revolut F1 Team in 2026.

About Schörghuber Group

Paulaner Brewery Group is part of the Schörghuber Group, one of Bavaria’s most established family-owned conglomerates, with interests spanning beverages, hospitality, and real estate. The Schörghuber family has held a majority shareholding in Paulaner since the 1990s.