Paulaner switches distribution to Heineken in South Korea
Germany’s Paulaner Brewery will transition its official distribution partnership in South Korea from Hitejinro to Heineken Korea as part of a “long-term internal strategy”.
Heineken’s domestic unit in South Korea will begin distribution for the Munich-based brewery from 1 January 2026.
Heineken owns a 30% stake in Paulaner Brewery Group. The remaining 70% stake in the company is held by Schörghuber Unternehmensgruppe.
Jörg Biebernick, CEO of Paulaner Brewery, said the change is part of “a long-term internal strategy”, and stressed that the decision was “not due to operational issues”.
Biebernick said the change was “not an easy decision for us”. However, he said of the closer ties to Heineken in South Korea: “Paulaner Brewery Group has maintained a joint venture with Heineken for nearly 25 years, and this deeply rooted partnership will allow us to further develop Korean market by leveraging our internal set ups the best possible way.”
Paulaner Brewery exports its beers to more than 70 countries worldwide.
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Biebernick described Korea as “one of our most important international markets”.
Indeed, the brewery reported 2.2% growth in beer imports to Korea last year amid an overall 3% decline in total beer imports, suggesting its appeal in the South Korean market.
Last month, Heineken reported softer volumes but strong premium performance in Asia and Africa in its third-quarter trading update.
Heineken reported revenue of €8.7 billion for the third quarter of 2025 and €25.6 billion year to date, according to its latest trading update on 22 October. Net revenue (beia) was down 0.3% organically in the quarter and up 1.3% year to date. Total consolidated volume decreased by 3.8% in the quarter and by 2.1% year to date.
In Asia Pacific, net revenue (beia) rose 5.6% organically in the quarter, despite a 0.8% drop in volume. Growth in Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos partially offset declines in Cambodia and India. Vietnam delivered beer volume growth ahead of the market, with Heineken Silver nearly doubling its performance, as reported by the brewer. Read more here.
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