Asia Brewery, Inc. was established by Lucio Tan on January 27, 1982, with the inauguration of its brewery in Cabuyao, Laguna and the launch of its first brand, Beer Hausen Pale Pilsen. This was followed by Max Premium beer in 1983, Manila Beer in 1985, and Beer Pale Pilsen in 1988. Beer Pale Pilsen (now, Beer Na Beer) was launched with much controversy.[1]
By 1992, the company inaugurated its second brewery at El Salvador, Misamis Oriental with a capacity of 2 million hectoliters of beer per annum. It also began diversifying its product line with the introduction of bottled water (Summit and Absolute), iced tea drinks (Pacific Sun), sport drinks (100Plus Isotonic Drink and Cobra Energy Drink) and alcoholic mixes (Tanduay Ice and Tanduay Black “alcomixes”). The company is also looking into expanding into the international market.[2]
International brands
The company currently brews Colt 45 (under license) and distributes Asahi Super Dry beers.[3][4] It was previously a licensee brewer of Carlsberg (1987), Budweiser (1997), Lone Star (1999), Coors Original (2007) and Coors Light (2007) beers. In May 2016, the company announced it signed an agreement with Heineken International to establish a new venture (AB Heineken Philippines, Inc.) that will brew and distribute Heineken brands. The company also announced it will begin distributing Heineken and Tiger Beer.[5]
In 2007, the company became the Philippine bottler of Virgin Cola, through its subsidiary, InterBev Philippines, Inc. until the closure of Virgin Cola.
In 2011, the company acquired Philippine distribution rights for Vitamilk soy milk from Thailand's Green Spot Company Ltd., with an option to manufacture the product under a joint-venture agreement given certain sales milestones. The following year, the company announced the establishment of AB Pascual Foods, a joint-venture with Spanish dairy company Grupo Leche Pascual (renamed as Calidad Pascual in 2014) to enter the yogurt market. The venture will initially import Creamy Delight yogurt with the intention of putting up a yogurt manufacturing facility in the Philippines in two to three years.[6][7][8]
In March 2014, the company announced[9] it had acquired the license to manufacture and distribute the ready-to-drink version of Nestea, taking over from Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (now Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines).
