Chinese challengers

I’ve just returned from an amazing trip to Tibet, where I visited three of China’s many new beverage innovators.

What makes them of significance is that they are investing in the best equipment and the best quality. One day some of them will become world contenders.

The three I visited were:

• Zhuoma Spring, a new bottled water business with a supply contract for all of Sinopec’s thousands of petrol stations and its own design of water dispenser with a 12 litre bottle that collapses under vacuum as it empties.

• Green Barley Beer, a new brewing operation for Tibet’s leading beer brand in the best presented industrial estate I’ve ever seen.

• Tibet 5100, which bottles a premium water from the world’s highest source and is distributed to all passengers on China’s bullet trains.