Japanese brewers targeting women to boost sales

Tokyo, July 27 : Major Japanese brewers are turning to women in bid to overcome sluggish sales of alcoholic beverages.

Kirin Brewery Co, has recruited female employees to develop cocktails tailored for young women while Sapporo Breweries Ltd. has set up a team composed of seven women to create a new product.

Kirin President Senji Miyake said: 'The company will be in trouble unless women employees play an active role,' which will help the company to be accepted by female customers.

Suntory Ltd has targeted women's magazines to place advertisements for its 'happoshu' low-malt beer called 'Diet Nama' (draft). A 350 cc can is priced at around 152 yen.

Sales of beer have been on the decline since brewers raised prices earlier this year.

Kirin Brewery Co started marketing ''two dogs cocktails' in 350 cc cans on June 18, one called ''cassis navel' in a pink can and another called 'salty bulldog'' in a green can for around 148 yen.

Sakurako Yoshino, 26, and Natsu Mori, 24, who are both in their third year with Kirin, developed the products.

The pair were given the assignment as the company wanted to come up with beers and cocktails that women of the same generation as Yoshino and Mori would enjoy.

''I wanted to develop a product that would be more of a pleasure to look at and to taste than the products available, which emphasize 'osake' (alcohol),'' Japan Today quoted Yoshino, as saying.

ANI