Following today’s release of Heineken’s quarter three trading results;

Holly Inglis, Beverages Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“Heineken’s favorable 8% growth in beer volume shows the pure strength of the brand, as overcoming the global downturn of beer sales is no mean feat. GlobalData notes that global beer volume declined by 5.1% YoY in Q3 2021. Considering this quarter historically sees high beer consumption due to summer and holiday trends, a weak overall performance indicates that COVID-19 strains are still present across the globe.

“According to GlobalData’s Q3 2021 global consumer survey, 5% of consumers stopped purchasing beer, with a further 20% highlighting that they buy small portions or less frequently. This correlates directly to health and wellness trends that are making headway across the globe, with people increasingly opting for non-alcoholic alternatives and turning away from high-alcohol beverages in many markets. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense that Heineken’s no-alcohol brand 0.0% saw a double-digit growth during the quarter.

“In the long-term, the global beer market has a long way to go if it is to recover from the heavy losses witnessed in 2020, with COVID-19 fuelling many declines, and refocusing consumers’ demand towards products that are more beneficial to health.”

Survey data is from GlobalData’s 2021 Q3 Global Consumer Survey, September 2021