Heineken Sells Less Beer After Customers Hit By Price Hikes

According to Heineken, sales of beer decreased during the most recent quarter as consumers accepted price increases.

Nonetheless, the company’s executives stated that as its own cost constraints lessened, price hikes fueled by inflation are slowing down.

The third quarter of 2023 witnessed a 2% growth in total revenues for the Dutch brewer, which also produces Strongbow cider and Amstel lager, reaching €9.6 billion (£8.4 billion). Organic growth in net revenues was 4.5%.

The main factor supporting this was increased pricing, while beer volumes decreased by 4.2% during the quarter and by 5.1% throughout the first nine months of the year.

The company reported a more notable decline in the quantity of its high-quality beers sold.

Heineken claimed that the unfavorable July and August weather across Europe also had a role in this, with sales trends improving in September.

The company’s overall business performance has improved “gradually,” according to chairman and CEO Dolf van den Brink, but this has happened “slightly more slowly than our ambition.”

The Heineken beer brand, whose sales volumes increased by 2.3% during the quarter, was highly praised by the firm.

The brewer said that despite a “high-single digit” price increase, net revenues for its products remained steady in the UK.

According to Mr. van den Brink, “Whilst inflation-led pricing is tapering, we observe a slowdown of consumer demand in various markets facing challenging macroeconomic conditions.

“In this context, we will stay the course on executing our strategy, remain vigilant on costs and focus on rebalancing our growth.

“All in all, the operating profit guidance range for 2023 remains unchanged.”

Heineken is a well known premium beer brand from Netherlands (Holland) founded at 1873.