Liquor regulation improvement and Gompyo Wheat Beer

Yugyeong Jeong

           Last year, the government announced a plan to improve alcohol regulation in order to strengthen the competitiveness of the domestic liquor industry and enhance the convenience of liquor consumers. Regulations were comprehensively improved over the entire stages of manufacturing-distribution-sales, and in the manufacturing sector, consignment manufacturing (OEM) of alcoholic beverages using facilities of other manufacturers was permitted. Because liquor manufacturing licenses are issued for each liquor manufacturing site, consignment manufacturing of liquor in the way of producing alcoholic beverages at other manufacturing sites was impossible. However, after the amendment, consignment manufacturing using other manufacturing facilities of a company equipped with manufacturing facilities and licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages is permitted. Effective use of facilities is expected to reduce costs, convert overseas production to Korea, ease the burden of facility investment, and promptly launch products.

           An example of the improvement in liquor regulation having a major impact on the industry is the convenience store CU’s “Gompyo Wheat Beer”. Gompyo Wheat Beer, which once sold out with great interest, has recorded 2 million cumulative sales to date, announced that it will be mass-supplied through consignment production of craft beer for the first time in Korea. Compared to demand, the supply of Gompyo wheat beer was not smooth due to the limitations of production facilities, and some consumers even went to convenience stores far from home to get products. However, thanks to the deregulation of the government, the manufacturer ‘Seven Brau’ entrusted the consignment production to ‘Lotte Chilsung Beverage’ to increase the production volume 15 times compared to last year, and ranked first in the sales of convenience store beers across all domestic and imported beers. Also, starting with Gompyo Wheat Beer, the popularity of handcrafted beer at convenience stores has increased the overall market.