Uncertain economic situation puts pressure on Swiss breweries
Published: Tuesday, Nov 28th 2023, 14:01
Retour au fil d'actualité
Less beer is being drunk in Switzerland. Beer sales fell significantly in the last brewing year 2022/23. The main reason for this was the deteriorating consumer sentiment. One ray of hope is non-alcoholic beers, which are becoming increasingly popular.
According to initial calculations by the Swiss Brewers' Association (SBV), the Swiss beer market recorded a year-on-year decline of 2.5% in the 2022/23 brewing year (as at the end of September). A total of 4.57 million hectoliters of beer were sold during this period, the SBC announced on Tuesday.
While the domestic output of all Swiss breweries fell by 1.2% (to 3.60 million), beer imports fell much more sharply. They fell by 7% to 0.98 million and still accounted for 21% of the Swiss market. Around ten years ago, the share of imports had peaked at 26%.
Corona recovery halted
The association is not overly concerned by the decline. Beer consumption had risen sharply the previous year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, said SBC President Nicolò Paganini at the annual media conference. Compared to the average beer output since 2010, last year's sales were therefore within the expected range.
Meanwhile, the weather had little impact on beer sales. While the rainy months of April and May had a negative impact on business, beer statistics improved during the warm and prolonged summer, according to Paganini. The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which took place in November and December, did not give the industry a boost either.
Uncertain economic situation
Meanwhile, the worsening economic situation is becoming more and more of a problem for breweries. "Inflation fears, rising health insurance premiums, high energy costs and the uncertain geopolitical situation are depressing consumer sentiment. This is also having a negative impact on beer consumption," says Paganini.
In addition, the restaurant trade, an important sales channel for beer, is only recovering slowly from the coronavirus slump. Last year, just under a third of beer sales went through this channel, with the rest being sold via the retail trade. A good ten years ago, this figure was around half.
"The restaurant trade is under pressure and I don't expect us to sell 50 percent of our beer through this channel again in the future," said SBC Director Marcel Kreber. The regulars' table culture continues to die out, and in rural regions, retiring landlords have great difficulty finding a successor.
Non-alcoholic beer on trend
Meanwhile, non-alcoholic beer is becoming increasingly popular with the Swiss. According to the Brewers' Association, output rose by 5.3% in the last brewing year to just under 280,000 hectoliters. This brings its share of total beer output to 6.1 percent, up from 5.8 percent in the previous year.
Kreber sees several reasons for this trend: For example, people's lifestyles have changed towards a healthier lifestyle. Non-alcoholic beer is also consumed as a valuable sports drink. And the variety of non-alcoholic beers is also growing. In addition to lager beer, wheat beers, IPA beers and bitter and fruity beer variants are being consumed without alcohol.
©Keystone/SDA
French 
English 
German 
Spanish 
Arabic