Asahi Group opens US$70m investment fund under the newly established Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation company
US – Asahi Group Holdings, a Japanese multinational food, and beverage company has established an investment management company, Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation LLC, in the US, that will manage US$ 70 million to be used for startup investment for the next three years.
The company will start managing a startup investment fund, Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation Fund, in January 2023.
Through minority investment and collaboration with such startups, Asahi Group Holdings will use Asahi Group’s business platform to support the expansion of sales in the US and abroad for the products and services provided by those companies.
Additionally, the company will provide the Asahi Group’s regional headquarters in Japan, Europe, Oceania, and Southeast Asia with information on startup initiatives and trends in the US market, which will be utilized in their respective areas of operations and contribute to the growth of Asahi Group’s existing businesses.
Under the Asahi Group Philosophy, Asahi Group aims to achieve sustainable growth and enhance its corporate value over the medium to long term by steadily implementing the strategies outlined in the Medium- to Long-Term Management Policy and to become a group that continues to earn the trust of stakeholders into the future.
The move, according to Asahi, is an ideal business portfolio as stated in the Asahi Group Medium- to Long-Term Management Policy.
The startup investment fund, Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation Fund, provides funding to US startups that have attractive brands with significant future growth potential in the low-alcohol beverages, non-alcohol beer-taste beverages, and adult soft drink categories.
The investment fund also invests in startups with technology that will lead to new sales and manufacturing methods.
The investment managers of Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation will consist of employees appointed from the Asahi Group’s regional headquarters, and others to manage the startup investment fund, Asahi noted.
Atsushi Katsuki, President and CEO at Asahi Group Holdings said: “In addition to its size, the US is one of the most attractive markets in the world for creating new trends. We look forward to co-creating with startups that will open up new markets for alcohol and non-alcohol beverages. We aim to ‘deliver on our great taste promise and bring more fun to life’ by grasping new trends in the US and creating new value.”
The new growth move comes at a time when the brewer is seeing a resurgence of consumer interest in beer in Japan but believes that some challenges are upcoming for other segments including low-alcohol and non-alcoholic products.
During its H1FY2022 results earlier this year, Asahi highlighted plans to focus more strongly on its canned beers segment in Japan, a move that appears to have paid off for its beer business.
Despite the challenges it faces, Asahi remains confident that it will be able to remain profitable in Japan for FY2022, forecasting an 8% growth in revenue to JPY1.31tn (US$12.7bn) and a 7.6% growth in profits to JPY111.4bn (US$1.09bn) by the end of the year.
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