Raise a glass as Tsingtao is again top Chinese beer brand

Tsingtao Brewery, valued at just over 95 billion yuan, has again been ranked first among Chinese beer brands, according to the Top 500 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2014.

Tsingtao exports to 85 countries and regions, and now ranks sixth globally in production, according to the Barth Report, an authoritative beer industry compilation.

Sales volume rose 20 percent in Northern Europe last year and continued to grow in the mainstream UK market with a 20.8 percent increase at Tesco and 53.5 percent at Waitrose supermarkets. It showed remarkable growth in emerging markets with sales rocketing by 93 percent in Africa and 73 percent in Eastern Europe.

The success of its overseas market was proven by hundreds of thousands of posts on Facebook or Twitter.

"Tsingtao, thanks for your support!" said Mile Jedinak, captain of the Australian World Cup soccer team in a signed team photo.

'My story with Tsingtao beer' is now a hot topic in Australia among users of Facebook which sparked shares and discussions among fans.

Also in Britain, model and actress Amy Jackson's story with Tsingtao beer is presented at more than 3,000 theaters before movies start.

Tsingtao has initiated a series of campaigns to rejuvenate its brand recognition in recent years. It has launched several new products including special packages for festival events, high end black beer and football packages to diversify and upgrade its portfolio.

As an official sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Tsingtao has been supporting sports in China including basketball and football as well as a number of music events.

Last year, it also launched an official store at the largest online shopping mall in China so that customers could enjoy beer straight from the brewery.

The average growth in Chinese beer production was 4.59 percent, a slowdown compared with previous years while Tsingtao has shown steady growth by 10.14 percent in terms of production and 9.73 percent in revenue growth. Its net profit grew 12.20 percent last year while sales volume jumped to 218 million kiloliters in the first quarter of this year, a 19.3 percent increase compared with the same period last year.