Alcohol has been utilized as a social enhancer for countless years. It is referred to as nommunication in Japan, a mashup of the words nomu (drink) and communication.
The theory behind alcohol consumption is that it makes people more laid back.
Companies have even taken on challenging problems in bars instead of conference rooms.
In 2012, Kazuo Inamori, the late former chairman of the then-bankrupt Japan Airlines, described how he used alcohol to urge his staff members to open up.
However, a whole new generation has emerged that choose not to drink as much. People from Generation Z are more sober than their parents and grandparents, according to numerous studies conducted in the US, Australia, and the UK.
Japan’s government organized a national competition called Sake Viva! in an attempt to buck the trend of diminishing alcohol tax revenues by 2022.
The sober generation presents a whole new set of challenges for companies who produce and market alcohol in addition to having an impact on tax collections in Japan.
“We have observed that younger generations are progressively choosing to consume less alcohol,” Asahi Group Holdings CEO Atsushi Katsuki stated.
But the largest brewer in Japan views this as an opportunity as well as a risk.
Although beer and alcoholic beverages account for the majority of our sales, our company is fairly unique in that we can also create soft drinks or non-alcoholic beverages, giving us a competitive advantage.
