June 2026 beer sales: Market firm at +4%; Sapporo outperformed

Research evidence excerpt

June 2026 beer sales: Market firm at +4%; Sapporo outperformed

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Alcoholic Beverages

June 2026 beer sales: Market firm at +4%;

Sapporo outperformed

Industry Overview

10 July 2026

Market: June flat; Apr-Jun up 12%

Equity

According to Nikkan Shokuhin Tsushin, an industry newspaper, published on July 2, sales Japan

volume at the four major domestic beer makers was flat YoY for Beer & beer-adjacent, Beverages - Alcoholic

up 4% for beer, and down 5% for economy products (new genre down 3%, happoshu Manabu Sumoge >>

down 8%). The impact of the price hikes in April last year remained through May, Research Analyst

causing monthly volatility, but this impact has run its course. The market was firm, BofAS+81 3 6225Japan8855

supported by contributions from new and limited-edition products. In Apr-Jun, Beer & manabu.sumoge@bofa.com

beer-adjacent sales volume rose 12% (beer up 13%, economy products up 11%). Yuxi Dai >>

Research Analyst

Asahi GHD: June flat; Apr-Jun up low-teens % BofASyuxi.dai@bofa.comJapan

June 2026 sales volume was flat YoY for Beer & beer-adjacent (beer up low-single-

digit %, economy products down high-single-digit %). Asahi Gold, launched on April 14,

sold about 220,000 cases in May and about 180,000 cases in June, indicating a slight

moderation in momentum. In Apr-Jun, Beer & beer-adjacent sales volume rose low-

teen% (beer up mid-teen%, economy products up around 10%).

Kirin HD: June down 3%; Apr-Jun down 6%

June 2026 sales volume declined 3% YoY for Beer & beer-adjacent (beer up 3%,

economy products down high-single-digit %). Economy products were weighed down by

a high YoY hurdle, as Kirin had not raised prices for private-label OEM products until last

October. In RTD, core brand Hyoketsu was strong. Hyoketsu Sugar-Free rose 20%, and the