Western Europe

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

The on-trade continued its recovery in the Western European alcoholic drinks market in 2022. However, it still has some ground to make up after the losses inflicted by the COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. The off-trade, after seeing a demand spike in…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

In 2022, wine registered moderate total volume growth, while recording strong total current value growth. While volume and value sales increased in both the retail and foodservice channels, growth was mainly driven by the on-trade recovery, as…

Spirits performed very well in 2022 with total volume sales recording high single-digit growth and total current value sales seeing a double-digit increase. The main growth driver continued to be on-trade sales as the reopening of society following…

RTDs recorded strong on- and off-trade volume and current value growth in 2022. This remained one of the most innovative and a perceived young category within alcoholic drinks in Switzerland. RTDs cater to various prevailing consumer demand trends in…

Cider/perry remained a popular option in Switzerland at the end of the review period. The category continued to enjoy a steady, if slightly slower, growth in demand in 2022. Overall, volume and current value sales rose in off- and on-trade terms.…

Retail volume sales of beer dropped slightly in 2022, mainly due to the ongoing recovery of the on-trade channel. Thus, total volume sales rose over 2022. Foodservice outlets continued to gradually reopen and consumers regained confidence and…

Overall, alcoholic drinks continued to grow in total volume sales terms in 2022, albeit at a more moderate pace than in 2021, while maintaining low double-digit total current value growth. The main reason for continuous positive development was the…

Private label – retailers’ alternatives to brands – tend to benefit from inflation. However, despite record inflation in France, Germany and the UK, the market share of private label in the three countries remained broadly stable across FMCGs in…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with income inequality, mass migration and rising uncertainty about another crisis being among the major ones. Nevertheless, within this lie untapped opportunities. This…

The reopening of foodservice outlets in 2022 meant the start of recovery for the on-trade channel after two challenging years. As a result, off-trade volume sales continued the decline that recommenced in 2021, after a single year of growth in 2020,…

Total volume sales of spirits recorded a marked recovery in 2022, driven by the full reopening of the on-trade channel, as night clubs were finally allowed to reopen with no restrictions in March 2022. Although the shift in consumption occasions…

RTDs continued to record a stellar growth performance in 2022, into double-digit territory in total volume terms, driven almost entirely by spirit-based RTDs, helped by continuous product innovation and promotional offers. As RTDs are mostly sold…

Cider/perry saw significant growth in both total volume and current value terms in 2022, driven in large part by increasing demand from the younger generations of legal drinking age in Germany. This demand was influenced by the trends towards…

The long-awaited post-pandemic rebound of on-trade sales materialised in 2022, as most foodservice outlets were fully reopened for the entire year, in sharp contrast to the closures affecting the previous year. In March 2022, nightclubs were also…

A marked total volume rebound was seen for alcoholic drinks in 2022, as a result of the full reopening of on-trade channels following the lifting of measures to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, implemented in 2020 and 2021. Within beer, which…

Just like overall alcoholic drinks, wine experienced a notable shift in consumption patterns in 2022. With the COVID-19 situation becoming more manageable, on-trade sales witnessed a strong recovery while off-trade sales were impacted. As a result,…

Spirits, much like the broader alcoholic beverage market, witnessed a strong recovery in on-trade sales at the expense of off-trade sales in 2022, as the COVID-19 situation became more manageable and consumers gradually returned to their pre-pandemic…

RTDs (Ready-to-Drink) beverages have experienced a surge in demand, primarily driven by increased home consumption during the pandemic. As consumers spent more time at home, they rediscovered the convenience of pre-mixed drinks and became more…

Similar to the overall alcoholic drinks market, cider/perry experienced a strong rebound in on-trade sales at the expense of off-trade sales in 2022, as the COVID-19 situation improved and consumer habits returned to normal. This resulted in…

Just like alcoholic drinks as a whole, beer was characterised by a strong recovery of on-trade sales at the cost of off-trade sales in 2022, when COVID-19 finally became a manageable problem and public life and the going out habits of consumers…

In 2022, alcoholic drinks witnessed a strong recovery in on-trade sales, which came at the expense of off-trade sales. As COVID-19 became manageable and public life normalised, consumers resumed their going out habits, resulting in a significant…

2022 saw total volume sales of wine register moderate growth and this was entirely due to the strong performance recorded in the on-trade. The re-opening of Turkey’s consumer foodservices industry during the post-pandemic era as COVID-19 control…

Wine in Sweden saw a disappointing performance in 2022, thanks to a moderate decline in off-trade volumes. Sales flourished during the first year of the pandemic, having benefitted from minimal international travel and cross-border trade across much…

Off-trade wine sales saw a strong decline in volume and value in 2022, largely due to the revival of cross-border trade with Sweden and an increase in international travel in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. The on-trade wine market experienced…

Wine sales were decreasing in Belgium retail in 2022. Cross-border trade and the opening of horeca outlets were key reasons for a decline in retail sales, while the old-fashioned image of still and fortified wine continued to result in a decline for…

2022 saw off-trade volume sales of spirits decline and this was entirely due to falling demand in the key category of aniseed-flavoured spirits, where sales are dominated by the local spirit raki. Due to its high alcohol content, raki is the type of…

Following a two-year period of healthy volume growth, sales of spirits declined in 2022. This was attributable to the poor performance of the off-trade, as inflationary pressures forced many consumers to show more prudence with their spending.…

Off-trade spirits saw a decline in volume and value sales in 2022, largely due to the resumption of cross-border trade with Sweden and an increase in international travel. The on-trade spirits market, meanwhile, experienced a recovery in 2022…

In 2022, spirits recorded a decline in off-trade sales in Belgium, with an increasing number of Belgians crossing the borders to buy their alcohol at lower prices in neighbouring countries. These consumers mostly go to France and Luxembourg, where…

On-trade sales of RTDs saw a strong recovery in 2022, with volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Growth was boosted by the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, which encouraged more people return to bars and restaurants. RTDs are often enjoyed socially…

2022 saw continued strong growth for RTDs. RTD cocktails and hard seltzers are gaining in popularity in Norway, with a significant substitution effect between RTDs and cider (in favour of RTDs). The products are now placed side by side on the shelves…

The RTDs landscape was the fastest growing in 2022, in both the off-trade and on-trade, with sales benefiting from the rising cocktail and mocktail trend seen in Belgium.

Cider/perry registered negative off-trade volume growth during 2022, despite value growth soaring in the category over the course of the year. This was the result of the substantial increases that were seen in the off-trade unit price of cider/perry…

Cider/perry saw marginal growth in total volume terms in 2022. Despite the removal of pandemic-related restrictions, which saw the revival of the on-trade channel, this had little impact on overall demand, due to the overwhelming importance of…

Off-trade volume sales of cider/perry declined in 2022 due to the resumption of cross-border trade and international travel, as well as the impact of high inflation and the strong increase in unit prices. The shift towards on-trade also had an…

The cider/perry retail landscape was declining fast in 2022, driven by a general decrease in the consumption of alcohol, aligned to rising health trends, as well as a lack of investment seen in the cider/perry market. A key challenge for the…

2022 saw growth rates accelerate in beer as the category registered double-digit total volume growth. This positive performance can be seen as a sign that the category has well and truly entered its post-pandemic recovery phase as on-trade sales of…

Beer saw a fairly flat performance in volume terms in 2022, when compared to the previous year. While on-trade volumes continued to edge towards their pre-COVID-19 levels, thanks to the removal of pandemic-related restrictions, off-trade sales were…

There was a decline in total beer volume sales in 2022, which was largely driven by the resumption of international travel in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. This led to increases in cross-border trade and duty free sales, which, in turn, suppressed…

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the closure of pubs and bars, the complete re-opening of the Horeca channel led to growth in the on-trade for 2022. In addition, the return of international travel acted as a further boost for sales, while the…

2022 saw Turkey’s alcoholic drinks industry continue to register very positive total volume growth, with all categories continuing to benefit from rising demand as the alcoholic drinks industry recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and…

Sales of alcoholic drinks in Sweden failed to see any perceptible growth in volume terms in 2022, despite the easing of pandemic-related restrictions. While on-trade volumes continued to edge towards their pre-COVID-19 levels, as consumers returned…

In 2022, the alcoholic drinks market in Norway was negatively affected by the resumption of cross-border trade and international travel. The prevailing high rate of inflation and consumers becoming increasingly cautious in their spending also had a…

The alcoholic drinks landscape registered an overall decline in 2022, with a key reason being the re-opening of borders following the outbreak of COVID-19. As such, the number of Belgians crossing the border to buy alcohol, mainly from France and…

Total volume sales of wine recorded just 1% growth in 2022, with off-trade experiencing a marginal decline, compared to on-trade’s impressive rise of 19%. A second consecutive year of double-digit volume for on-trade in 2022 was due to the further…

New legislation was introduced in 2021 which limited the permissible discount percentage on wine at 25%, which dealt a significant blow to the category. This restriction alongside consumers returning to more active lives outside the home put pressure…

Wine continued to recover from the slump in 2020, caused mainly by the decline in on-trade sales in light of Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. In 2022, a good performance was underpinned by the full reopening of the on-trade channel and the strong…

Volume sales of wine declined in 2022, continuing the pattern of the previous year. Wine was one of the major beneficiaries of the pandemic, with retail sales having surged in 2020 as consumers made the most of at-home drinking occasions. With…