--- title: "Kirin vs Sapporo: Which is more popular?" description: "Is Kirin or Sapporo more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Japanese beer brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/kirin-vs-sapporo-beer" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Kirin vs Sapporo: Which is more popular? Is Kirin or Sapporo more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Japanese beer brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Kirin and Sapporo - **Competitive set**: Japanese beer brands - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Oct 2026 - **Kirin Share of Search**: 20.5% - **Sapporo Share of Search**: 33.5% ## Is Kirin or Sapporo more popular in search? - In October 2026, Sapporo had more branded searches than Kirin among Japanese beer brands worldwide. Sapporo had about 135,000 branded searches, while Kirin had 82,600. Sapporo made up 33.5% of all Japanese beer brand searches we track, and Kirin accounted for 20.5%. - Sapporo was ahead of Kirin in every measured month of the 12 months ending October 2026. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Kirin’s share of searches among Japanese beer brands worldwide moved from 18.9% to 20.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 60.2K to 82.6K. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Sapporo’s share of searches among Japanese beer brands worldwide moved from 34.6% to 33.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 110K to 135K. ## Top Japanese beer brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Kirin and Sapporo showed up in all five answers. Sapporo was listed before Kirin in three of them. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Asahi | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Sapporo | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Kirin | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Yebisu | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Suntory | 5th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Hitachino Nest | 6th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Orion | 7th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about Japanese beer brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which Japanese beer should I try?": 1. Asahi, 2. Sapporo, 3. Kirin, 4. Yebisu, 5. Hitachino Nest - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best Japanese beer brands?": 1. Asahi, 2. Sapporo, 3. Kirin, 4. Yebisu, 5. Hitachino Nest, 6. Suntory, 7. Orion - Asked ChatGPT "What's a good Japanese beer to drink with sushi?": 1. Asahi, 2. Sapporo, 3. Kirin, 4. Yebisu - Searched Google, AI Overview "japanese beer": 1. Asahi, 2. Kirin, 3. Sapporo, 4. Suntory, 5. Orion, 6. Yebisu, 7. Hitachino Nest - Searched Google, AI Overview "japanese beer brands": 1. Asahi, 2. Kirin, 3. Sapporo, 4. Suntory, 5. Orion, 6. Hitachino Nest, 7. Yebisu Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 25, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for Japanese beer brands worldwide in October 2026? - In October 2026, Asahi overtook Sapporo to become the leader among Japanese beer brands worldwide, with 33.5% of the searches. - In October 2026, Kirin gained share of searches among Japanese beer brands worldwide, from 19.2% to 20.5%. - In October 2026, Sapporo lost share of searches among Japanese beer brands worldwide, from 38.4% to 33.5%. ## How has branded search for Kirin and Sapporo changed worldwide over the last 12 months? | Month | Kirin estimated searches | Kirin Share of Search | Kirin rank | Sapporo estimated searches | Sapporo Share of Search | Sapporo rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 60.2K | 18.9% | 3 | 110K | 34.6% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 66.2K | 20.6% | 3 | 110K | 34.2% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 60.2K | 20.4% | 3 | 110K | 37.4% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 54.2K | 19% | 3 | 110K | 38.5% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 60.2K | 20.4% | 3 | 110K | 37.4% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 60.2K | 20.3% | 3 | 110K | 37.1% | 1 | | May 2026 | 73.6K | 22.2% | 3 | 110K | 33.2% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 67.6K | 19.5% | 3 | 110K | 31.7% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 67.6K | 22.1% | 3 | 110K | 36% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 73.6K | 20.3% | 3 | 135K | 37.3% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 67.6K | 19.2% | 3 | 135K | 38.4% | 1 | | Oct 2026 | 82.6K | 20.5% | 3 | 135K | 33.5% | 2 | ## How are Kirin’s and Sapporo’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Kirin’s and Sapporo’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Kirin**: Measured on the search terms “kirin beer” and “kirin ichiban”, summed into one figure. - **Sapporo**: Measured on the search term “sapporo beer”. - [Kirin profile](/demand/global-en/brands/kirin) - [Sapporo profile](/demand/global-en/brands/sapporo-beer) - [All Japanese beer brands worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/japanese-beer-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Kirin or Sapporo more popular in search? In October 2026, Sapporo had more branded searches than Kirin among Japanese beer brands worldwide. Sapporo had about 135,000 branded searches, while Kirin had 82,600. Sapporo made up 33.5% of all Japanese beer brand searches we track, and Kirin accounted for 20.5%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Kirin vs Sapporo: Which is more popular?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/kirin-vs-sapporo-beer This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/kirin-vs-sapporo-beer. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.