Beer with watermelon, barbecue, three to five friends, projection screen... Recently, this combination has become a "standard" for many sports fans watching games. With the intensive development of sports events such as the European Championship, Copa America, and Olympics, coupled with the continued high temperatures this summer, beer consumption is booming. Watching football definitely requires beer Tian Jun, who works in sports event broadcasting, is an old fan. He said that beer has become his fixed partner for watching games: take a sip when you're tired, refresh yourself! Goal scored! Give it a shot! When it comes to consumer choices, he found that the variety of beer in the market is becoming increasingly diverse. In the past, he drank a popular brand canned beer and went for a "big brand", but now he loves to drink a craft beer because "the taste is really good and the cost-effectiveness is also very high". Beer is a cooling tool for many consumers in the scorching summer and a popular choice for many gatherings. This year, intensive sports events have added fuel to the 'beer economy'. According to a report jointly released by Nielsen IQ and local lifestyle platform Ele.me, since the start of the European Championship, the sales of beer and pre mixed spirits in the Chinese market have increased by 50% and 42% respectively compared to the previous period. Amidst the booming market, major beer brands are vying for business opportunities. Domestic and foreign brands such as Carlsberg, Tsingtao Beer, and Yanjing Beer have taken advantage of the sports event boom to vigorously carry out promotional activities, stirring up consumers' heartstrings. Taking Carlsberg as an example, the brand launched relevant marketing activities a few months ago. Consumers who purchase designated products online and participate in lottery games have the opportunity to win related awards, including WeChat red envelopes and overseas travel. Online, beer festivals and related product discounts dominate the recommended homepage of e-commerce platforms. Driven by a series of promotional activities, many beer products have seen an increase in sales. For example, in a certain e-commerce supermarket, multiple beer products with a unit price of no more than 5 yuan rank among the top sellers, and there is a brand of 330ml canned beer with a unit price of less than 2 yuan/bottle, with sales reaching hundreds of thousands of pieces. In addition, merchants offer discounted packages and special activities based on the sports competition schedule, making their products and gameplay more diverse. Offline, products and services tailored to specific consumption scenarios have been launched one after another. In addition to supermarkets, the enthusiasm for beer consumption has spread to various small pubs. A chain of tavern brands has launched a "Win Good Gifts" promotion, where customers can participate in the activity through the mini program to win alcohol vouchers and participate in lucky draws; There are also craft beer bars that play live game videos in real-time and offer exclusive "watching packages" to provide consumers with richer choices. Even for late night games at 12 o'clock, we will broadcast them until the end of the game before closing the store. Many customers wear jerseys to visit, and the store is very popular, "said a staff member of a tavern. Wang Yimeng, 26, works for an Internet company in Beijing. He is a hard core fan and has been chasing European Cup matches all the way. She noticed that during the competition, many bars and beverage shops hung decorations with elements such as football and team uniforms, resulting in a significant increase in foot traffic, even at night, which was particularly popular. Many fans go for this atmosphere and are willing to order an extra beer while watching the game. It is worth mentioning that beer consumption has also shown some new trends. For example, the sales of craft beer with better taste and richer malt flavor are constantly increasing, and the consumption growth rate is much higher than the entire beer market. The 2023 Craft Beer Industry Research Report shows that the consumption of craft beer in China was 143000 kiloliters in 2022, and it is expected to reach 230000 kiloliters by 2025, with a compound growth rate of 17%. The US Consumer News and Business Channel website recently reported that it is expected that beer consumption in China will recover in the second half of the year, driven by sports events, and high-end brands will be favored. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of beer. According to data from Qichacha, there are currently 67000 beer related companies in China. Driven by market competition and consumption upgrading, the registered number of beer related enterprises in China will reach 7563 in 2023. The Chinese beer industry is maturing, with the continuous emergence of pub brands specializing in craft brewing from bottle retail. Large scale sports events, music festivals, picnics, camping and other activities have entered thousands of households, constantly enriching the consumption scene of "beer+". Some market analysis institutions believe that the trend of consumers favoring high-end beer is expected to increase the profit margin of beer companies. The Chinese beer industry will continue to benefit from product structure upgrades, and the future development of the beer sector is worth looking forward to. Not long ago, the 33rd Beijing International Yanjing Beer Culture Festival was held in Beijing. On site, the integration of camping, light and shadow, sports, music, food, amusement and other elements has made beer transcend the boundaries of beverages and become a carrier of passion and vitality. Off the field, sports events are continuing to ignite the 'beer economy', adding vitality to summer consumption. (New Society)