SMC’s China unit grows 13% on strong beer sales

Food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) made inroads in its beer operations in China last year with sales volume and revenues growing at double-digit levels.

San Miguel Baoding Brewery (SMBB) registered revenues of $16.8 million or an increase of 13 percent from the previous year on higher sales volume.

Buoyed by intensified sales and marketing efforts, SMBB posted a 22-percent growth in sales volume with Blue Star Beer being the major contributor.

SMBB’S Blue Star Beer brand accounts for 96 percent of the San Miguel beer sales revenues in Northern China.

‘"Blue Star has become one of the local people’s most favorite brands and has contributed largely to spurring the city’s economy and fostering the cultural life of the people," said Baoding Deputy Mayor Gao Tianmin.

Other brands contributing to SMC North China operations’ growth include San Miguel Pale Pilsen, San Mig Light and Valor which like Blue Star are perennial winners of gold medals of excellence in the international product quality competition, Monde Selection.

SMBB is located in the western part of the 309.3 square-km Baoding City (about half the size of Metro Manila) in Hebei province, which is in the middle of three other major densely-populated cities: Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and China’s capital, Beijing.

The North China SMC operations started in 1996 with San Miguel’s purchase of the former Bada Baoding Brewery. Under SMC, the brewery earned its ISO 9002 and ISO 9001 certifications in 1998 and 2001, respectively.