Lockdown Spurs Sales of Non-Alcoholic Beer

The non-alcoholic beer market has been growing quickly in Korea as drinking alcohol alone at home has become a trend in lockdown.

A rising number of health-conscious consumers are also opting for non-alcoholic beer, along with those who want to relax by drinking some alcohol at camping sites without worrying about driving back home.

Brewers are coming out with their own non-alcoholic beers in order to tap this growing demand.

HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung Beverage released new versions of their existing non-alcoholic beers, while Oriental Brewery launched a new alcohol-free beer called "Cass 0.0" in November last year.

Heineken, the No. 1 imported beer in Korea, introduced a non-alcoholic version in April of last year.

HiteJinro saw explosive growth in sales of its non-alcoholic beer last year. Annual sales of "Hite Zero 0.00," which had hovered between 6 million and 7 million cans since 2012, surged to 21 million cans last year.