Japan's Suntory Beverage sees Australia as model for canned cocktail expansion

Suntory Beverage & Food

30/08/2023 09:31

By Mayu Sakoda and Rocky Swift
       TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Suntory Beverage &
Food  2587.T  sees Australia as a model for integrating canned
alcoholic drinks into offerings in other global markets, Chief
Executive Makiko Ono said. 
    As Japan's second-biggest domestic maker of soft drinks,
Suntory Beverage has traditionally focused on non-alcohol
offerings under the umbrella of global spirits maker Suntory
Group.
    This month, the group said it was putting together its
alcohol and non-alcohol sides in Suntory Oceania, a A$3-billion
($1.94-billion) partnership serving Australia and New Zealand.
    The company is considering building a factory in Australia's
northeastern city of Brisbane to produce canned drinks, such as
its BOSS brand of coffee and its ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail,
195 Double Lemon, debuted in 2021.
    "As a beverage company, this is our first time to make RTDs,
so I think this will be a new model we can use in markets such
as Europe," said Ono. "I would like to use Australian as a
reference case."
    Ono, who joined Suntory in 1982 and helped arrange the
purchase of a French winery and of Britain's Lucozade brand,
said the European market still had lots of potential to
introduce new energy drinks or coffee products.
    In taking the top job at Suntory Beverage in April, Ono
became the first woman to head a Japanese listed company valued
at more than 1 trillion yen ($6.83 billion). 
    But the record was soon broken when Yumiko Takano became
chief executive of Oriental Land  4661.T , the operator of Tokyo
Disneyland, in June.
    "I think it's a very positive trend," Ono said, referring to
 Japanese women taking top jobs. "I think it will continue to
increase."      
($1=A$1.5456)
($1 = 146.4500 yen)

 (Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
 ((rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com;))