Lager sales keep declining: what’s going on?
Things aren’t going well for lager. Lager sales figures in 2023 were disappointing compared with the previous year. While the golden-yellow beer used to account for over 90% of total beer sales, it now barely comes close to 80%. Meanwhile, we are reaching for alcohol-free specialty beer more often. What’s going on?
Beer and lager—isn’t that all the same? Definitely not. Yes, lager is always beer, but beer isn’t always lager. And although the beer market as a whole isn’t doing particularly well, it really is lager that seems to be drowning.
Bad summer, ridiculous prices
In 2023, 11.5 million hectoliters of beer were sold. You might not think so, but it was actually a pretty miserable beer year. The year before, total beer sales were 5.6% higher. According to the Dutch Brewers (who presented these figures), the disappointing sales were due to 2 things: the bad summer and the ridiculously high prices of beer. Uhm, yes. Sounds logical. That crappy weather last summer didn’t exactly make you think, ‘Come on, let’s have a few lagers on the terrace!’ And as for the high prices… We’ve now said enough about that. I can tell you that things also don’t look particularly rosy for the coming year.
We want 0.0!
Within the beer market, it is mainly lager that is struggling. Both at home and in pubs, we raised a toast with lager less often: 6.5% less than the previous year. Remarkably, sales of specialty beer and alcohol-free beer remained stable. Looking specifically at specialty beer, sales of alcohol-free varieties are actually doing well. Consumption of this type of beer rose by no less than 30% in 2023 compared with 2022. In the ever-shrinking Beerland, these types of beer are therefore claiming more and more territory. Are we tired of alcohol? And at the same time, do we want to taste more exclusive flavors than simple lager?
Get rid of the soft-drinks tax
NU.nl spoke to Fred Teeven, chairman of the Dutch Brewers. He is pessimistic about alcohol-free beer sales this year. Growth stabilized last year, but it remains to be seen what the figures will show this year. Teeven is particularly concerned about the increased soft-drinks tax, which also applies to alcohol-free beer. That tax is hindering sales of alcohol-free beer. The Dutch Brewers are therefore calling for a zero tax rate on alcohol-free beer. They do the same in the United Kingdom, they say, so why not in the Netherlands?
Also read:
- Sugar tax on light and zero soft drinks: why?
- These dramatic tax measures will make groceries even more expensive
- Beer kegs will become up to more than twenty euros more expensive in 2024
Source: NU.nl
