On April 10, the Korea Craft Beer Association announced a campaign to attach the K-Craft Beer certification mark to high-quality, small-scale beers. This is to distinguish itself from low-quality beers that consumers have ignored and to revitalize the small-scale brewing industry.
This campaign was designed to differentiate 'real' craft beers made with artisan spirit from low-quality products that are only labeled as craft beer, focusing more on quality than on marketing.
Although large corporations and some mid-sized breweries have entered the convenience store canned beer market under the name 'craft beer,' it is viewed as causing consumer fatigue due to their strategy of merely changing brands instead of offering differentiated beer quality.
Lee In-gi, chairman of the Korea Craft Beer Association, said, "People say craft beer in South Korea is dead, but what has died is convenience store beer. All the craft beer that used to fill convenience store shelves has disappeared. We believe the term craft beer is causing consumer confusion, so we aim to establish the identity of high-quality premium products through the K-Craft Beer certification mark."
The Korea Craft Beer Association expects that this certification mark campaign will enable consumers to distinguish between low-quality beer and well-made craft beer when purchasing.
From this day, the certification mark will be applied at the Korea Beer Industry Expo (KIBEX) 2025 held at COEX, centered around the Korea Craft Beer Association's booth, and plans to expand its scope to products afterwards.