Beer in Portugal

PROSPECTS

Weather conditions adversely affect beer sales

After a very positive year, sales of beer in 2018 ended were below initial expectations due to an overall cool spring and summer. Also, the early elimination of Portugal’s national team in the 2018 FIFA World Cup did not help category sales.

On-trade plays a role in boosting beer consumption

Portugal stands out among European countries in terms of on-trade volume consumption. This explains in part the category’s dependency on weather conditions, but the on-trade also provides a strong opportunity in terms of boosting sales of new and differentiated beer.

Craft beer increasing in popularity

Despite still being niche in Portugal, craft beer is developing strongly with several new microbreweries across the country. Several craft brands have already reached the shelves of major grocery retailers, gourmet stores, bars and restaurants and are registering high recognition among consumers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Beer is dominated by two players

The beer category in Portugal is dominated by two companies, Super Bock Group SGPS SA and SCC - Sociedade Central de Cervejas e Bebidas SA and their respective brands Super Bock and Sagres. Super Bock Group led sales by a small margin in 2018.

New players enter the category

With national beer sales practically divided between two companies, new companies have recently emerged with the ambition of becoming the third player. Nortada is a brand born in the centre of Porto in 2017.

Non/low alcohol beer sales could improve

Despite the availability of organic and gluten-free options, these product types are niche, and not yet top of mind for Portuguese beer drinkers. However, having for years limited itself to a small number of beer options, the country is slowly becoming more open to experiencing new flavours.

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