From regional flagship products to beverage matrices: Wusu opens new growth opportunities for Chongqing Beer

Originally from China Business Network

Reporter Dang Peng from Zhongjing, Chengdu reports

Recently, Uusu Beer launched Xinjiang’s traditional fermented beverage Uusu Kvass, further improving its beverage business layout. Its differentiated structure of “energy drinks + fermented flavored beverages + fruit juice sodas” is opening a second growth curve for Chongqing Beer.

The growth of Uusu Beer itself is a benchmark case of Chongqing Beer’s product matrix operation. As a local brand from Xinjiang expanding nationwide, Uusu Beer has successfully broken regional restrictions with its “hardcore” brand tone and scene-based recognition of “Eat barbecue, drink Uusu,” becoming a core support for Chongqing Beer’s performance.

Chongqing Beer’s financial report shows that by 2025, local brands represented by Uusu, Chongqing, Fenghua Xueyue, and Xixia will achieve revenue of 8.81B yuan. In this regard, beer expert Fang Gang pointed out in an interview with the media that Chongqing Beer’s flagship product, Uusu Beer, is expected to have an overall sales volume of about 800k tons in 2025, supporting Chongqing Beer’s performance.

Based on this, Chongqing Beer continues to enrich its product matrix centered on Uusu, enhancing both the strength and growth potential of its beer category while expanding into non-beer beverage tracks.

In terms of beer products, Uusu Beer continues to deepen its large-volume and specialty flavor layout. By 2025, Uusu will launch six 1L craft beer products, becoming an important growth driver in the non-draft channel. During this year’s Spring Festival, Uusu launched an 8.88L New Year limited product, which sold out quickly due to its topicality and sharing attributes, confirming the market potential of large-volume products.

Regarding capacity layout, among Chongqing Beer’s four under-construction production lines, three are 1L can lines, with two already in operation. They also plan to add 1L craft beer capacity in 2026, demonstrating their emphasis on this segment.

The expansion of the beverage matrix marks Uusu’s transition from a “beer brand” to a “full-scene beverage brand.” The newly launched Uusu Kvass creates a “fermented flavor + malt aroma” unique taste, precisely matching dining scenarios such as hotpot and barbecue, which are heavy-flavor cuisines. It also covers high-frequency nighttime consumption scenes like family gatherings, night markets, and outdoor leisure, filling the gap of “fermented flavor beverages” in Uusu’s beverage matrix.

In addition to Kvass, Uusu’s beverage matrix has formed a three-category collaborative layout. In 2025, it launched a low-sugar energy drink “Dianchi” and a fruit juice soda series “Tianshan Fresh Fruit Manor.” As a result, Uusu’s three major categories focus respectively on energy replenishment, flavor特色, and natural fruit juice, covering all scene needs from dining, nighttime socializing, to daily replenishment, forming a complementary and synergistic product ecosystem.

Red Restaurant Big Data shows that by 2025, the market size of non-alcoholic dining beverages in China has approached 400 billion yuan. Against the background of stock competition in the catering industry, dining beverages have shifted from traditional “profit supplements” to the “second curve” of revenue growth for catering stores.

Chongqing Beer’s layout of the Uusu beverage matrix aligns with industry trends of consumption upgrading and diversification. Data shows that by 2025, Chongqing Beer will have launched over 30 new products across craft, tea beer, beverages, and other categories. Through a “racehorse mechanism,” the product structure is dynamically optimized, with several new products achieving double-digit growth. Industry insiders say that the improvement of Uusu’s beverage matrix will not only further enhance Carlsberg China’s business layout but also push Chongqing Beer to break through the ceiling of the beer category and improve its resilience.

Chongqing Beer General Manager Li Zhigang stated that in the future, Chongqing Beer will continue to actively expand into large cities. Facing the overall decline in beer sales, the company will actively innovate, with fruit-flavored and tea-flavored single products still in the early stages. They will provide more diverse products to meet consumer needs.

(Edited by: Yu Haixia; Reviewed by: Sun Jizheng; Proofread by: Zhai Jun)