Hite Jinro’s persistent efforts to globalize appear to be paying off as the leading South Korean distiller is successfully shipping to a growing number of regions across the world.

Until now, Hite Jinro was mainly focused on the Asian and U.S. markets, but recently began to expand significantly and added a number of new continents to its clientele.

Early this year, the distiller partnered with Dominican Republic’s leading tourist company, Barcelo Group, to target Latin American consumers. It also forged partnerships with local distributors in Poland, Rumania and Lithuania to edge into the Eastern Europe markets.

China is no exception. In September, the company launched its new product New Hite in the Chinese market. New Hite was invented to give Hite Jinro a facelift and prove that Korean beer is not, as was commonly believed, watery or tasteless, but in fact can cater to international consumers. 

New Hite was created after the company engaged in joint research with German beer consulting firm, Hanse Beverage, to jumpstart the globalization of its production lines earlier this year.

Today, Hite Jinro sells beer and soju ― a distilled Korean liquor ― to 60 nations around the world.

“We have pushed ahead with innovation to achieve full globalization of our beer quality,” the company said in a statement.

At home, more restaurants and bars have been selling New Hite. Up to 77 percent of such eateries now sell New Hite, up from the 27 percent in March, the company said.

Hite Jinro said it has worked on improving beer quality since the company set quality innovation as its main management goal in 2011.

Starting in 2012, the company adopted the ice-point-filtration system and the air-blocking system to help keep beer fresh for longer periods of time.

It also adopted “Supply Chain Management”, a more effective distribution system, last September, aiming to reduce unnecessary process of inventory management, thereby slashing the amount of time needed for Hite Jinro products to reach the consumers.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)