Beer in Belgium

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Speciality, craft and fusion beers lead innovations in 2019

Craft, speciality and abbey (ale) beers were rising in popularity in 2019. Consumers are also trusting of brands which have a lot of experience, are transparent, and release special and exclusive offers.

From low- and no-alcohol beers, to fusions with tequila, consumers are calling for novelty and choice

Low- and no-alcohol beer continued to gain popularity in 2019 and Leffe 0.0% (Anheuser-Busch InBev NV) was launched as the first non-alcoholic abbey beer in Belgium earlier in the year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV maintains strong lead thanks to wide portfolio and ongoing innovations in leading Jupiler brand beer

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV maintained its strong lead in beer in 2019, thanks to its wide portfolio of brands including the leading Jupiler brand, along with Leffe in second place and Stella Artois in third place in brand terms (plus others). Jupiler is especially popular, thanks to its FIFA World Cup 2018 marketing in 2018, whereby they named the beer Jupiler Belgium for the duration of the World Cup, with marketing emphasising the motto “We Are Belgium.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

On-trade volume sales of beer are expected to decline by 40% in 2020 in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to an expected 2% decline forecast for 2020 during research conducted in May 2019, i.

Affected products within beer

The move away from premium beer looks set to impact more expensive craft beers from smaller companies, as consumers gravitate towards mid-priced brands from larger players. Additionally, craft beer breweries who were inviting adult consumers of legal drinking age to visit their premises as part of their marketing strategy, have been negatively impacted during lockdowns.

Recovery and opportunities

It is expected that the low- and no-alcohol trends will continue to grow over the forecast period, therefore this poses opportunities for players to innovate further in offering such products. Additionally, while more expensive craft beers see challenges created by lower consumer spending power, it is expected there will continue to be a demand for fusion and craft beers which adult consumers can drink at home.

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