Black Pearl Guide Integrates Carlsberg Beers for China Food Pairings
Carlsberg Asia has partnered with Meituan’s prestigious Black Pearl Restaurant Guide—China’s top dining authority—to launch the Carlsberg Drinking Roadmap, a curated selection of premium restaurants integrated into Dianping’s Must-Eat List 2025 for on-premise dining and quick-commerce delivery of Carlsberg beers. Carlsberg Group, the Danish multinational and roughly the sixth-largest beer producer globally by revenue with around $11 billion USD in 2024 sales, brings its brewing heritage and innovative Alchemy portfolio to elevate beer pairings in these venues. Meituan, the leading Chinese tech platform for local services like on-demand food delivery, in-store bookings, and consumer reviews, boasts over 770 million annual transacting users by the end of 2024, enabling Carlsberg to bridge premium experiences with everyday accessibility across major cities.
The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide functions as a curated dining guide in China, double-certified by culinary experts and Meituan’s big data. Its official website describes a rigorous selection process involving an anonymous review committee, an authoritative council, and a third-party supervisor, with annual releases that carry strong influence nationwide. Key evaluation criteria cover culinary presentation (including food and beverage pairing), service, environment, and heritage alongside innovation.
Carlsberg Asia and Meituan plan to deliver real-time, occasion-based food-and-beer experiences through the partnership, spanning delivery services to personalised promotions and curated product selections tailored to diverse consumer preferences. This approach leverages Meituan’s quick-commerce platform and behavioural insights to connect Carlsberg’s portfolio—from classic lagers to the premium Alchemy line—with specific dining moments in key cities like Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. The initiative bridges premium Black Pearl venues with everyday eateries on Dianping’s Must-Eat List 2025, expanding Carlsberg’s reach across on-premise and on-demand channels.
Arindam Varanasi, Commercial Vice President, Carlsberg Asia, said:
“Our collaboration with Black Pearl and Meituan is more than a campaign; it is a clear statement of building unique bonds that draw on each other’s brand values and ethos. It showcases the power of partnership – where our brewing heritage and R&D excellence meets China’s most prestigious dining guides and its largest lifestyle platform. Together, we are setting a new premium standard and creating unmatched value for consumers across the ecosystem.”
To mark the launch, Carlsberg’s Master Brewer Zoran Gojkovic traveled to China to lead food and beer pairing events with chefs at venues including Yue Restaurant (modern Cantonese), Yun Jing at Raffles Shenzhen, and 1996 Sichuan Cuisine in Beijing. Each event paired dishes from these restaurants with beers from Carlsberg’s portfolio. This fits China’s emergence as a premium beer market, driven by middle-class growth and demand for quality imports.
