Tokyo, Feb. 8 - After announcing price increases on some items, Kirin Brewery Co., Nissin Food Products Co. and other food and beverage companies saw demand surge before the hikes took effect, The Nikkei reported in its Saturday morning edition.
Kirin Brewery in October announced it would lift prices on Feb. 1. January shipments of beer and beer-like beverages shot up more than 50% on the year, "for probably the first time ever," said a company official.
Although January is typically the quietest month of the year for beer production, the Kirin Holdings Co. unit ramped up brewery operating hours by 46%.
When beer prices were last raised in 1990, the major brewers all lifted prices around the same time. But this time, Kirin Brewery was out in front of rivals, benefiting the most among beer makers from higher demand.
"It's beaten expectations," said President Senji Miyake.
But shipments at the start of February had fallen by about the same amount as they rose in January.
With plans to lift prices on March 1, Asahi Breweries Ltd. expects demand to balloon around 30% this month and is ramping up output.
The rush in demand doesn't appear to be from consumers, but rather from wholesalers and retailers boosting inventories.
Instant noodle makers uniformly bumped up prices by 10% or so last month, preceded by announcements in the fall. Since there was a three- to four-month lead up to the hikes, demand ballooned over that period. In contrast, buying plunged in January.
In October and November, Nissin saw its instant noodle shipments climb 14% and 4%, respectively. In a strong reaction to the higher prices, shipments plunged by double-digits last month.
Instant noodle shipments at Myojo Foods Co. jumped roughly 8% in the October-December quarter, but tanked nearly 40% in January.
"The huge decline was within our expectations, but it's a shock to see it on paper," commented Moyojo President Hironobu Nagano.
House Foods Corp. and S&B Foods Inc. started raising prices on their curry sauce mixes last November. But the hikes were reflected in retail prices later for S&B's products. S&B saw sales of its bargain-priced mixes jump in December, but watched them fall the following month, evidence that price-sensitive shoppers are picking products that cost less.