According to the Independent Brewers Association the cost of producing an IPA has risen by 23 per cent, while the recommended retail price has increased by only around 11 per cent.
Since the beginning of 2023, 35 breweries nationwide have entered insolvency, a figure that almost matches the total recorded during the previous year.
At the same time, Asahi’s Oceania craft portfolio grew by 29 per cent between 2021 and 2023, while independent craft breweries were collapsing at record rates.
As independents failed, Asahi has absorbed increasing shares of the craft beer market.
This consolidation has also been compounded by Woolworths Group and Coles Group, which together control up to 5 per cent of the market share through their own beer interests.
According to former Independent Brewers Association chairman Richard Adamson, the Australian beer market is among the most restrictive in the world, with market power concentrated in the hands of a small number of corporations.
“Anecdotally, we’re seeing that one in five to one in four shelf spaces for beer is now occupied by privately owned home-brand products,” he said.
“Twenty years ago, the supermarkets weren’t in the beer space.”
The pressure on pricing is most visible at the tap.
According to IBS data, an estimated 85 per cent of draught beer taps in Australian venues are tied to exclusive contract deals that include cash rebates and volume incentives independent brewers cannot compete with.
With more than 80 per cent of all beer sold in Australia consumed on-premises, in pubs, bars, and restaurants, these contracts effectively shut craft producers out of the market’s most valuable sales channel.
Illawarra Brewery bartender, Jay Ramsden said that craft beers shine a bright light on the beer industry
“It keeps it interesting, you know, customers come up to the bar, and they are always intrigued by what they haven’t tried before,” he said.
As Asahi and Kirin’s market share compounds, time will tell how much of the market share they will dominate in the coming years.
