Henkell Freixenet sparkling wine cellar reports record sales
Published: Tuesday, Apr 16th 2024, 15:21
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The corks are popping at the traditional company: The sparkling wine cellar Henkell Freixenet reports record sales - and faces challenges such as the extreme drought in some southern European wine regions. Business in Switzerland was one of the growth drivers.
The long-established German-Spanish company based in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Catalonia is the global market leader for sparkling wine in terms of sales and turnover. According to figures released on Tuesday, revenue in 2023 grew by 4.4% year-on-year to 1.48 billion euros (1.44 billion Swiss francs). Excluding the corresponding alcohol taxes, the increase amounted to 4.1 percent to 1.23 billion euros.
As a division of Geschwister Oetker Beteiligungen KG, the company traditionally does not disclose its detailed profits. However, despite the crises in the world, the company was still in the black in the "challenging year" of 2023 with a shortage of raw materials, increased costs and, for example, "exorbitantly" more expensive empty bottles. Some of the company's own prices were raised.
CEO Andreas Brokemper said that the family business sees international "opportunities in the strong brand loyalty" of consumers and in new trends driven by younger generations. These include more drinks with little or no alcohol and more aperitifs between work and after work.
Climate change as a factor
Brokemper also addressed climate change. One of the longest periods of drought since weather records began is currently threatening the production of the Spanish sparkling wine Cava in Catalonia, for example. At the same time, the - much more modest - viticulture in England is benefiting: "It's not all negative. It's a shift in viticulture."
According to Henkell Freixenet, the sparkling wine (+6%) and spirits (+11%) segments grew disproportionately in terms of sales excluding the corresponding tax last year. The wine category "followed the market trend and declined by 8 percent".
In 2023, the long-established company's market share grew in a number of countries. Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe were strong growth drivers. In North America and Asia in particular, however, sales fell. The number of employees rose by 59 to 3,623 within the space of a year in 2023.
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