South Korea’s leading liquor maker Hite Jinro said it aims to become a global liquor company by 2024, the year the company celebrates its 100th anniversary. 

According to Hite Jinro, the company has integrated its operating system at overseas branches in the US, Japan and China so they can better perform localization and marketing strategies. Countries like Russia and Vietnam will also adopt integrated system in the future. 

Through the company’s specialized marketing strategy called “glocalization,” Hite Jinro has penetrated overseas markets by launching soju and beer products for export use only catering to foreign customers. 

Earlier this year, Hite Jinro launched Hite Extra Strong with 8 percent alcohol by volume in New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, after its renewal of Hite Strong with 6.4 percent ABV. 

The company is also betting on its fruit liquor series following the success of Jinro Grapefruit and Jinro Green Grape, launched in 2016.

From August, Hite Jinro has been selling low-alcohol fruit-flavored soju Jinro Plum in the US. It was developed exclusively for export.

Buoyed by the global popularity of the fruit liquor, Jinro America, the US branch of Hite Jinro, saw sales of $23 million last year, up 10 percent on-year. Over 4.3 million bottles of the Jinro fruit series sold abroad last year, according to the company. 

By using its bottle-shaped characters and bus advertisements, the company is also promoting the brand targeting both locals and Koreans in the US in other cities like Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

(ddd@heraldcorp.com)