Beer market in Poland: it hasn't been that bad in 10 years
2021 was the third year in a row of decline in beer consumption in Poland and the deepest in a decade. During this period, the market shrank by as much as 5 million hectoliters.
Last year, consumption was one billion bottles lower than in 2018. At the same time, for the first time since 2017, the brewing industry recorded a decline in the market value. Weaker sales were accompanied by soaring production costs and increases of excise tax.
2021 was a very difficult year for the brewing industry. It was the third consecutive declining year in terms of the amount of beer sold on the market - says Bartłomiej Morzycki, general director of the Union of Brewing Industry Employers - Polish Breweries. - In one year, the market decreased by one million hectoliters. If we look at the last three years, in 2021 we had 5 million hectoliters less beer on the market than in 2018. That is one billion bottles less. Beer in Poland is currently at the lowest sales levels in at least 10 years.
According to the report of NielsenIQ, the segment that drags the market downwards and contributes most to the decline in both value and volume are alcohol lagers, which account for over 80% of the total beer market and struggle with the largest and deepest drops. The segment of strong alcohol lagers has been declining even more, for several years now. On the other hand, non-alcoholic beers are at the other extreme: in 2021, the value of their sales reached PLN 1.17 billion, PLN 157 million more than in the previous year.
- The premiumization trend is definitely worth mentioning. We can see that the top and ultra premium segments are developing dynamically, with a simultaneous decline in economy, i.e. the cheapest ones. We have a more than two-digit decline in this segment, which means that consumers buy and consume less and less cheap beer, with simultaneous premiumization, i.e. an increase in the most expensive segments - says Marcin Cyganiak, commercial director of NielsenIQ in Poland.
Last year, by more than 20%. The sales of top and ultra premium beers increased, however, compared to mass lagers, they constitute a small segment of the market. The other price segments (economic and mainstream) ended the year with negative results.
Source: Interia