Budweiser beer on sale at a supermarket in Seoul. [Yonhap]
Budweiser beer on sale at a supermarket in Seoul. [Yonhap]

The old rule that alcohol belongs after dark is changing. As more consumers seek out morning music events and non-alcoholic drinks, the liquor industry is rolling out marketing campaigns aimed at these new drinking cultures.

Budweiser held an electronic dance music (EDM) party called "Early Bird" Sunday at a bakery cafe in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event reflected the "morning rave" trend spreading among younger consumers — a leisure culture that combines "morning" with "rave," the term for all-night dance parties, reframing the start of the day around music and dancing rather than late-night drinking.

DJ sets played throughout the event as attendees enjoyed the music with Budweiser Zero, the brand's non-alcoholic offering, instead of beer. A Budweiser representative said the company plans to continue hosting events that pair non-alcoholic drinks with music at various cultural venues, including record shops and LP bars.

The shift is also driving growth in the non- and zero-alcohol market. Under Korea's liquor tax law, beverages with less than 1 percent alcohol content are classified as drinks rather than liquor; under food labeling standards, products with no alcohol at all are labeled "alcohol-free," while those with under 1 percent are labeled "non-alcoholic."

OB Beer recorded a 43.5 percent share by sales value in the domestic household non-alcoholic beer market from January through May this year. The company recently launched Cass Lemon Squeeze Zero, while Hite Jinro sold out the entire initial run of 900,000 bottles of Terra Zero — released last month — within 10 days of launch.

The canned version sold about 4 million cans within 100 days of its release, prompting the company to ramp up production. Lotte Chilsung has also been stepping up its push into the segment, having launched Cloud Non-Alcoholic last year.

Industry insiders expect the trend to go beyond simply drinking less, with consumers increasingly reinterpreting drinking itself as a lifestyle choice. An industry official said demand is growing, particularly among people in their 20s and 30s, to moderate alcohol intake with health and physical condition in mind, adding that experience-driven consumption combining music, fashion and distinctive spaces — not just product quality — will determine market competitiveness going forward.


jookapooka@heraldcorp.com