From regional flagship products to beverage matrix: Uusu opens new growth opportunities for Chongqing Beer

Ask AI · How will the launch of U.Sukawass strengthen the full-scenario beverage lineup?

China Business News reporter Dang Peng, Chengdu report

Recently, U.Suk Beer launched U.Sukawass, a traditional fermented beverage from Xinjiang, further improving its beverage business layout. Its differentiated structure of “energy drinks + fermented-flavor drinks + fruit soda” is opening a second growth curve for Chongqing Beer.

The growth of U.Suk Beer itself is a benchmark case of Chongqing Beer’s product matrix operations. As a local brand that has expanded from Xinjiang to the whole country, U.Suk Beer has successfully broken through regional limitations by leveraging a “hardcore” brand positioning and a scenario-based understanding of “Eat barbecue, drink U.Suk.”

According to Chongqing Beer’s financial reports, in 2025, local brands represented by U.Suk, Chongqing, Fenghua Xueyue, Xixia, and others achieved operating revenue of RMB 8.805 billion. In this context, beer expert Fang Gang, in an interview with the media, pointed out that U.Suk Beer—the flagship single product of Chongqing Beer—had total sales of around 8 million tons in 2025, providing support for Chongqing Beer’s performance.

On this basis, Chongqing Beer, with U.Suk at the core, continues to enrich the richness and growth potential of its product matrix. It both strengthens its advantages in the beer category and expands into the non-beer beverage track.

In terms of the beer category, U.Suk Beer continues to deepen its large-volume and distinctive flavor layout. In 2025, U.Suk launched six 1L craft beer products, becoming an important growth driver for non-on-trade channels. During this Spring Festival, U.Suk launched an 8.88L Spring Festival limited edition product; thanks to its topicality and shareability, it sold out quickly, confirming the market potential of large-volume products.

In its capacity planning, among Chongqing Beer’s four construction-stage production capacities, three are 1L can lines, two of which have already been commissioned. In 2026, it also plans to add additional 1L craft beer capacity, fully showing its emphasis on this segment.

The expansion of the beverage matrix also marks U.Suk’s leap from a “beer brand” to a “full-scenario beverage brand.” The newly released U.Sukawass creates a unique taste of “fermented flavor + malty aroma,” precisely matching heavy-flavor dining and pairing scenarios such as hot pot and barbecue. At the same time, it covers high-frequency night consumption scenarios including family gatherings, night-market barbecue, and outdoor leisure, filling the gap in U.Suk’s beverage matrix for “fermented-flavor drinks.”

In addition to Kawass, U.Suk’s beverage matrix has formed a coordinated layout across three major categories. In 2025, it introduced a low-sugar energy drink series “Dianchi” and a fruit soda series “Tianshan Fresh Fruit Manor.” As a result, the three major categories under U.Suk each focus on three sub-segments: energy replenishment, flavor characteristics, and natural fruit juice. Together, they cover full-scenario needs ranging from meal pairing and nighttime socializing to everyday replenishment, forming a complementary and coordinated product ecosystem.

Red Dinner data shows that in 2025, the market size for China’s non-alcoholic meal-pairing beverage products was nearly RMB 400 billion. Against the backdrop of stock-based competition in the catering industry, meal-pairing products have moved from being traditional “profit supplements” to a “second growth curve” for revenue growth at restaurant locations.

Chongqing Beer’s layout of the U.Suk beverage matrix aligns with industry consumption upgrading and diversification trends. Data shows that in 2025, Chongqing Beer launched more than 30 new products in total, covering multiple categories including craft beer, tea beer, and beverages. By using a “horse-racing mechanism” to dynamically optimize the product structure, multiple new products achieved double-digit growth. Industry insiders say that improving the U.Suk beverage matrix will not only further enhance Carlsberg China’s business layout, but will also help Chongqing Beer break through the category ceiling of beer and improve its ability to withstand risks.

Chongqing Beer’s general manager Li Zhigang said that in the future, Chongqing Beer will continue to actively expand into major cities. Facing the overall decline in beer industry sales, it will actively innovate. Fruit-flavored and tea-flavored single products are currently still at the starting stage; going forward, it will meet consumer needs by offering diverse products.

(Editor: Yu Haixia; Review: Sun Jizheng; Proofread: Zhai Jun)