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Kirin
Brewery Co. president Koichi Matsuzawa has fired a warning shot over the bows
of the company’s biggest rival in the increasingly fierce
battle for the growing market for alcohol-free beer. He has complained
publicly that the label design of the new alcohol-free beer, Dry Zero (picture) produced by Asahi
Breweries is too similar with the company’s Super Dry product.
The cans
of the new beer will be silver with back writing, while the bottled version
will have a similar, square label and another around the neck. The Japanese
word for “non-alcohol” appears on the labels, but Kirin believes the Asahi
logo across the centre of the design will make people associate the new drink
with Super Dry.
Sales of
non-alcoholic beer first began in Japan in 2008 and in 2011 a total sales of
29 million cases, each case holding 24 250-mililiter bottles was recorded.
Kirin was the first among Japan’s “Big Four” brewers to see the
opportunities of non-alcoholic beers and released Kirin Free in April 2009.
The
reason for the unexpected popularity of alcohol-free beer in Japan are numerous,
including a recent crackdown by police on drunk
driving and more people saying they do not enjoy the effects of alcohol but
still want to be able to socialise. The brewers are also keen to expand their
products’ profiles overseas, with Kirin launching Kirin Free in the United
States on a trial basis in October.
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VOCABULARY
1. Rival(n) - a
person, group, or organization that you compete with in sport, business, a
fight etc [= competitor]
2.
Fierce (adj.) = done
with a lot of energy and strong feelings, and sometimes violent: Ex: a
fierce debate
3.
Version (n) - a copy
of something that has been changed so that it is slightly different. Ex: a
new version of the software
4.
Brewers(n) - a person or company that makes beer
5.
Numerous (adj.) – many Ex:
Numerous attempts have been made to hide the truth.
6.
crackdown
(n) - action
that is taken to deal more strictly with crime, a problem, protests etc
7.
launching (v) - to make
a new product, book etc available for sale for the first time:
QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Do you like beers? How often do you drink
beers?
2.
Which countries are known for their beers?
3.
Name big brewers in your country?
4.
Discuss about competition of companies.
5.
What can you say about copying label design?
