World’s 15 Most Valuable Alcohol Companies

Founded by transplanted Bavarian brewers in 1903 in the eastern coastal province of Shandong, Tsingtao now produces beer in about 60 facilities all over the country. Its revenue in the third quarter of 2020 reached $1.264 billion. Among Chinese breweries, only China Resources Beer (see No. 11) brought in more.

Japan’s second-largest brewery (after Asahi; see No. 13), Kirin dates its origins back to one founded in 1869 by a Norwegian-American entrepreneur in Yokohama. Besides its two main beers, Kirin Lager and Ichiban Shibori, the company — a member of the Mitsubishi Group — also owns soft drink, restaurant, real estate, agribio businesses, and other enterprises.

Japan’s largest brewery, with a market share of more than 35%, Asahi markets at least half a dozen varieties of beer under its own label. In 2016, the company bought Italy’s Peroni, Holland’s Grolsch, and several other breweries from Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Reporting revenue of $2.01 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, Carlsberg produces beer (including non-alcoholic varieties) and distributes in all over Europe and beyond. Besides its eponymous brews, the company owns Tuborg, Kronenbourg 1664, and numerous other brands. It is said to market more than 500 different beers in all.

China Resources, whose best-known brew is Snow — representing about a fifth of all the beer sold in China — is a subsidiary of China Resources Holdings Company Ltd., a conglomerate owned by the Chinese government. At the end of 2020’s second quarter, the brewery reported revenue of $2.4 billion.

With about 40 wine, spirits, and pre-made cocktail brands – including Jack Daniel’s whiskey, El Jimador tequila, and Chambord liqueur – the company reported net fourth-quarter sales of $709 million last year, down 4% from the same quarter in 2019.

Among the scores of wine, beer, and spirits brands owned by Constellation are Robert Mondavi, Kim Crawford, Ruffino, The Prisoner, Corona, Pacifico, Negra Modelo, Svedka vodka, and Casa Noble tequila. In November last year, Constellation reported a 21.94% revenue increase year-over-year since 20198, amounting to $2.4 billion.

This massive Chinese enterprise produces beer, wine, and spirits under a number of labels. Its best-known products are Yanghe and Shuanggou brand baijiu — a spirit distilled from sorghum and sometimes other grains, considered the best-selling liquor in the world. The company’s fourth-quarter revenue last year was $368 million.

Pernor and Ricard are two popular anise-based French liquors, but the company that bears their name owns scores of wine and spirits brands around the globe. Among the most famous are Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagne, Absolut vodka, Martell cognac, Beefeater gin, Jameson Irish whiskey, Chivas Regal and Ballentine’s scotch, and Malibu rum. The company’s revenue fell 36.2% in the fourth quarter, apparently as a result of COVID-19.

Heineken beer itself, known globally for its distinctive green bottle, is one of the world’s best-selling brews. This Dutch-based company, however, also produces such international favorites as Amstel, Sol, Tiger, Moretti, and Lagunitas. It announced full-year 2020 revenue of $28.6 billion.

Altria is better-known for its cigarettes than its beverages. (It owns Philip Morris USA — Marlboro, Parliament, Virginia Slims, etc. — and is the country’s largest tobacco company.) However, it also owns Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, whose brands, besides Washington state’s Château Ste. Michelle, include California’s Villa Mt. Eden and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It also partners with such worldwide brands as Antinori, Villa Maria, and Nicolas Feuillatte. Fourth-quarter revenue for the company last year was $6.3 million.

Many of the world’s most famous champagne, wine, and spirits brands belong to this British firm. Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Cloudy Bay, Johnnie Walker, Hennessy, Ron Zacapa, and Belvedere are just some of its best-known offerings. Diageo’s net sales for the last half of 2020 came to £6.9 billion (about $9.6 billion).

This brewing powerhouse controls roughly 30% of all beer sales internationally by volume, thanks in large part to Budweiser, the world’s most popular beer brand. Its other labels include Michelob, Rolling Rock, and Busch. The company’s third-quarter revenue for 2020 was $12.816 billion.

Most Americans have never tasted baijiu, the sorghum-based Chinese spirit, but it is by far the best-selling liquor in the world, with sales almost double those of the next largest category (whisky/whiskey). Wuliangye, produced in Sichuan province, averages around $6.1 billion in annual revenue — and virtually all its sales are within China.

This popular brand of baijiu — the sorghum-based Chinese specialty that is the world’s best-selling liquor category — is itself the world’s most valuable spirit brand, according to the trade publication The Spirits Business. Though Moutai’s popularity is growing abroad, about 97% of its sales are within China. The company reported revenue of $10.39 billion for the first three quarters of last year.