Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Co making malt drink for Kirin

Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Co (台灣菸酒公司) started production a clear malt beverage for Japan's Kirin Brewery Co last month in a bid to seek new revenue sources, a company official said.

"We have shipped about 120,000 liters, or 16,600 cases, of the beverage [known as a malternative] to Kirin in August," said Lai Shung-tang (賴舜堂), manger of Taiwan Tobacco's liquor division.

"Actually, for this deal we're producing semi-finished beverage before it is further processed and bottled by Kirin in Japan," Lai said.

Taiwan Tobacco, formerly Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board (菸酒公賣局), hopes to ship annually as many as 800,000 cases to Japan's second-largest beermaker, Lai said. He declined to disclose the size of revenues the Kirin deal may bring.

However, "Its really good business for us, especially at a time when the competition is intensifying here," he said.

Taiwan deregulated its wine and tobacco market after joining the WTO earlier this year.

A Kirin official in Taiwan yesterday confirmed the deal.

"Kirin will start to sell two new brands of malternatives in Japan in November, with Taiwan Tobacco supplying one of the brands," said Liu Tsai-jung (劉綵蓉), section chief at Kirin Brewery Taiwan Co, citing a news release from Kirin headquarters.

The new beverage is 70 percent malt in a 0.7-liter bottle, Liu said. It will be labelled Pureblue Shochu in Japan and first marketed to Greater Tokyo area on Nov. 7, before being sold across that nation early next year, she added.

Kirin is using malternatives to expand its scope of alcohol products, according to Liu.