Description
The UK Beer Market Report 2022 identifies consumers’ attitudes towards beer consumption, shopping habits and consumer behavior regarding beer, and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the beer industry in the UK. This report covers the market size UK beer, market forecast, market segmentation and beer industry trends for the UK beer market.
The Beer Industry in the UK: Current Market Landscape
Higher average prices due to ingredient shortages and increased production costs, plus the revival in the on-trade, have driven beer market revenue in 2022. However, the beer industry’s discretionary nature, in common with alcoholic drinks generally, has seen it become a target for cutbacks in both off- and on-trade channels in 2022 amidst rising pressure on household incomes.
According to our beer market research, this is likely to continue in 2023 as inflationary pressures on household incomes continue. However, the view of beer as an affordable treat, should insulate it from cut-backs to some extent.
Beer Market Analysis: Market Share, Consumer Behaviour, and Opportunities
The beer market revenue is expected to fall in 2023 as inflation continues to outpace wage growth, putting the discretionary category and on-trade volumes in particular under pressure. Mintel’s beer market research predicts that volume sales will pick up in 2024, although hindered by sluggish real wage growth.
Another challenge for the UK beer market will be beer’s higher usage frequency among under-45-year-olds, which means that the beer industry will lose out due the UK’s ageing population, as the population of 20 to 34-year-olds is set to decline while that of 35 to 44-year-olds remains static. Moreover, the continuation of venue closures and the shift towards hybrid working patterns as a result of COVID-19 also pose barriers to the on-trade sector of the UK beer market, preventing it from regaining its previous market position.
- Beer Market Share: Lager dominates the UK beer market, accounting for an estimated 75% of total value sales.
- Beer Industry Consumer Behaviours: 59% of consumers view beer as an affordable treat.
- UK Beer Market Opportunities: Using the ‘right’ glassware, for example branded or matched to the type of beer, is held to make drinking beer more enjoyable by 47% of beer market UK consumers. Offering these receptacles should therefore allow brands to associate their products in shoppers’ minds with a more pleasurable drinking experience, thus encouraging repeat purchase.
Future Trends and Marketing Opportunities in the UK Beer Market
Beer market revenue should gain momentum in 2025 as household incomes improve, with revived on-trade sales driving strong value sales growth in the beer industry in the UK. However, the ageing UK population, beer industry trends such as alcohol moderation, and hybrid working patterns will hinder sales growth long-term.
Nonetheless, our beer market research identifies opportunities for brands to pro-actively offer dish-matching recommendations for their drinks, both in-store and via online retail channels. This should help beer brands to tap into increased at-home meal occasions during the income squeeze. Mintel’s beer market analysis further shows that meal pairing suggestions are also relevant to driving usage occasions in the on-trade and can serve to encourage trading up where craft/premium products are recommended.
Read on to discover more details or take a look at all of our UK Alcoholic Drinks Market Research.
Quickly Understand
- The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the beer market revenue.
- Shifts in purchase channels in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and amidst the cost-of-living crisis.
- Shoppers’ priorities when buying beer, with favourite beer type leading.
- Trends in launch activity in the beer industry in the UK, and opportunities for further innovation.
- Consumers’ perceptions of beer as a potential meal accompaniment, and how to strengthen these associations.
- Challenges and opportunities for low/non-alcoholic beers in the UK beer market.
Covered in this Report
Products: Beer (lager, golden/light ale, dark/ruby/bitter ale, stout/porter, craft).
Brands: Beavertown Brewery, Stella Artois, Guinness, Peroni, Carlsberg, Foster’s, Carling, John Smiths, Old Speckled Hen.
Expert Analysis from a Specialist in the Field
This report, written by Alice Baker, a leading analyst in the Drinks sector, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends in the UK Beer market 2022, and adds expert context to the numbers.
Pro-actively offering dish-matching recommendations for their drinks, both in-store and via online retail channels, should help beer brands to tap into increased at-home meal occasions during the income squeeze. Meal pairing suggestions are also relevant to driving usage occasions in the on-trade and can serve to encourage trading up where craft/premium products are recommended.
Alice Baker
Senior Research Analyst
Table of Contents
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Overview
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Products covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- The five-year outlook for beer
- Figure 1: Category outlook, 2022-27
- The market
- Volatile value and volume sales performance over 2017-21
- Further inflation with fluctuating volume sales over 2022-27
- Figure 2: Market forecast for total value sales of beer, 2017-27
- Improved on-trade performance in 2022 compensates for decline in retail sales in ale, but not lager
- Figure 3: Total value sales of beer, by segment, 2020-22
- On-trade regains ground from retail in 2022, but remains short of its pre-pandemic levels
- Figure 4: Value sales of beer, by channel, 2017-22
- Inflation in beer lags behind overall inflation in 2022
- Figure 5: RPI inflation for off-trade beer and all items, 2019-22
- Ageing of the UK population will erode category sales
- Companies and brands
- Birra Moretti bucks the negative trend in retail lager sales, and Beavertown in ales
- Figure 6: Top ten brands’ sales in the UK retail lager market, by value, 2019/20-2021/22
- Low/no alcohol and limited edition launches continue; sustainable claims gain share of launches
- Figure 7: Share of new product launches with sustainable product claims, 2017-22
- Advertising spend rebounds in 2021
- Beer brands focus on holidays in their 2022 advertising, often with an aspirational lifestyle element
- Various brands will lose out from ageing UK population, few are seen as good value
- Figure 8: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, 2022
- The consumer
- Usage of beer is unchanged from 2021, but remains down on 2019
- Figure 9: Usage frequency for beer, 2019-22
- Lager leads on usage, a third drink craft beer, a quarter drink L/N/R alcohol
- Figure 10: Usage of beer by type, 2021 and 2022
- Under-35s lead on online buying, discount supermarkets underperform in beer
- Figure 11: In-store and online buying of beer, 2022
- Beer type is the leading buying factor, brand loyalty is low
- Figure 12: Priorities when buying beer, 2022
- Income squeeze prompts cut-backs both in the on-trade and retail
- Figure 13: Behaviours relating to beer, 2022
- Be more pro-active with meal pairing suggestions to drive sales during the income squeeze
- Figure 14: Attitudes towards beer, 2022
- The five-year outlook for beer
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Issues and Insights
- Be more pro-active with meal pairing suggestions to drive purchase during the income squeeze
- Low/non-alcoholic beers have the chance to shine
- Promote special glassware to strengthen treat associations and drive purchase
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Market Size and Performance
- Volatile value and volume sales performance over 2017-21
- Figure 15: Total value and volume sales for beer, 2017-22
- Volatile value and volume sales performance over 2017-21
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Market Forecast
- Volume sales decline predicted for 2023, should pick up over 2024-25
- Figure 16: Category outlook, 2022-27
- Further inflation and volatile volume sales expected for 2022-27
- Volume sales decline expected for 2023 as cost of living crisis continues
- Some improvement in volume sales in 2024, gaining momentum in 2025
- Figure 17: Market forecast for total value sales of beer, 2017-27
- On-trade channel is not expected to regain its pre-pandemic levels over 2022-27
- Ageing UK population will hinder category growth
- Figure 18: Market forecast for total volume sales of beer, 2017-27
- Learnings from the last income squeeze
- Patterns seen in 2011-14 will not necessarily be repeated
- Figure 19: Value and volume sales growth in the beer category, 2008-14
- Forecast methodology
- Volume sales decline predicted for 2023, should pick up over 2024-25
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Market Segmentation
- Lager accounts for three-quarters of total beer sales
- Figure 20: Total value and volume sales of beer, by segment, 2020-22
- Different beer types’ off- and on-trade performance differs in 2021
- Improved on-trade performance in 2022 makes up for off-trade decline for ale and stout, but not for lager
- Lager accounts for three-quarters of total beer sales
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Channels to Market
- On-trade regains ground from off-trade over 2021-22
- On-trade beer sales recover in H2 2021, but remain significantly down on pre-pandemic
- Figure 21: Value and volume sales of beer, by channel, 2017-22
- Further recovery in 2022, helped by hot weather, Jubilee and football…
- …but the cost-of-living crisis severely hampers sales
- On-trade inflation outpaces off-trade in 2022
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Market Drivers
- Inflation is the key concern for consumers and brands
- Retail price inflation in the beer category gains pace in 2022…
- …but continues to lag behind overall inflation
- Figure 22: RPI inflation for off-trade beer and all items, 2019-22
- Inflation runs faster in the on- than off-trade in 2022
- Despite Government support, energy prices are still a major concern
- Rising interest rates mean that the pressure will move up to middle- and higher-income households
- High inflation and rising interest rates will weigh down the post-COVID recovery
- Consumer spending power will be curbed
- Unemployment is at a near-50 year low
- Consumers’ financial wellbeing has fallen from the highs of 2021…
- Figure 23: Household financial wellbeing index, 2016-22
- …and most people are feeling the effects of price rises
- Beer loses out in 2022 as shoppers rein in discretionary spending
- Further cut-backs are expected for 2022-23
- Constraints on household finances will continue to favour at-home drinking
- Alcohol moderation trend stalls over 2021-22 but is likely to regain momentum over 2022-23
- New pub openings in 2021 cannot offset closures over 2019-21
- Concerns rise in the pub trade of further closures over winter 2022/23
- Brewery openings continue over 2020-21, but rising costs could put the brakes on this
- Ageing population will erode category sales
- Figure 24: Usage frequency for beer (nets), by age group, 2022
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Regulatory and Legislative Changes
- Changing alcohol duty policies will influence average prices
- Reforms to alcohol duties will push up prices for higher-ABV beers in 2023
- Draught Relief extended to include containers below 40 litres
- Alcohol duties for 2023 frozen then un-frozen by successive Chancellors
- More governments impose minimum unit pricing
- Scotland’s MUP meets with mixed success
- Scotland’s DRS will include alcoholic drinks
- HFSS regulations could benefit beer
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Market Share
- Stella Artois remains the leading lager brand at retail, but loses out amid cost-of-living crisis and on-trade’s revival
- Birra Moretti and Staropramen buck the negative trend in retail lager sales
- Own-label gains share as shoppers economise
- Figure 25: Leading brands’ sales and share in the UK retail lager market, by value and volume, 2019/20-2021/22
- Success of 0.0% variant fails to stem Guinness’s retail sales decline
- Increased distribution and raised advertising profile boosts Beavertown Brewery
- Figure 26: Leading brands’ sales and share in the UK retail ale and stout market, by value and volume, 2019/20-2021/22
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Launch Activity and Innovation
- Low- and no-alcohol launches continue
- Heineken takes the draught version of its 0.0% variant nationwide
- Attitudes towards BeerNew launches from Peroni and Corona emphasize their taste equivalence to the originals
- Figure 27: Corona Cero and Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0%, 2022
- Leading and niche brands look to extend their appeal
- Hazy beers trend gains momentum
- Figure 28: Share of UK beer launches described as ‘hazy’ or ‘unfiltered’, 2017-22
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- Figure 29: Examples of unfiltered/’hazy’ beer launches, 2022
- Limited edition launches can help to add value
- Figure 30: Limited edition beer launches’ share of overall category launches, 2017-22
- Dark Star Brewing calls its new variant “a battle between dark and light”
- Vocation Brewery looks to evoke associations with idyllic summer days
- Figure 31: Examples of limited-edition beer launches, 2021-22
- Goose Island links up with Aldi on exclusive beer
- Mikkeller launches beer linked with House of the Dragon TV series
- Various brands launch beers to mark the Platinum Jubilee both at retail…
-
- Figure 32: Examples of Platinum Jubilee beer launches, 2022
- …and in the on-trade
- Multiple brands launch on-trade exclusive beers in 2022
- Greene King commemorates local history with its new beer range
- Beer brands continue to innovate with flavours
- Fruit/vegetable flavours are the most widely-seen flavoured variant in 2021-22
- Figure 33: New product launches in the UK beer market, by flavour component sub-group, 20217-22 (sorted by 2021)
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- Figure 34: Examples of fruit-flavoured beer launches, 2022
- Northern Monk takes cues from home brewers
- Figure 35: Northern Monk takes cues from home brewers, 2022
- Further activity in sweet treat-inspired beers
- Figure 36: Examples of beer launches with sweet treat-inspired flavours, 2022
- Guinness ventures into the coffee flavour trend
- Beavertown launches glittery beer for Christmas 2022
- Figure 37: Beavertown Brewery brings the snow-globe trend to the beer category with Frozen Neck, 2022
- Collaborative beers push food pairing message
- Sustainable claims gain share of launches
- Figure 38: Share of UK beer launches with selected ethical claims, 2017-22
- Carlsberg trials fibre beer bottles
- BrewDog and Budweiser put their environmental credentials front-and-centre on-pack
- Figure 39: Examples of BrewDog and Budweiser beers highlighting their environmental credentials on-pack
- Black Sheep Brewery launches carbon-neutral beer with tree-planting pledge
- Various brands launch beers with charity link-ups
- Multiple brands pledge support to Ukraine
- Figure 40: Examples of beer launches offering support to Ukraine, 2022
- Link-ups with comedians can harness the celebrity influence
- Figure 41: Examples of charitable beers launched in collaboration with comedians, 2022
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Advertising and Marketing Activity
- Advertising spend rebounds in 2021
- Figure 42: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on beer, by advertiser, 2019-22 (sorted by 2021)
- Peroni accounts for the bulk of Asahi’s advertising in 2021 and 2022
- Peroni focuses on aspirational Italian lifestyles in its 2022 advertising
- Peroni 0.0% advert emphasizes that zero-alcohol is no barrier to enjoyment
- Carlsberg highlights its support for good causes…
- …and commemorates its 30-year partnership with Liverpool Football Club
- Heineken focuses on Birra Moretti in its 2021-22 advertising
- Birra Moretti portrays shared meals as helping to bring people together
- Heineken Silver extols the importance of real over virtual experiences
- Beer brands focus on travel after the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions
- Other selected campaigns
- Lucky Saint becomes the first alcohol-free beer to be sold on draught at the Oval
- BrewDog’s World Cup stance provokes controversy
- Skinny Lager highlights that lower calories are no barrier to enjoyment
- Strange Times Brewing Co invites drinkers to name a beer
- On-trade campaign looks to modernise the image of cask beer
- Figure 43: Beer pumps at a pub bar with Drink Cask Fresh branding, 2022
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
- Advertising spend rebounds in 2021
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Brand Research
- Brand map
- Figure 44: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, 2022
- Key brand metrics
- All brands apart from Peroni will lose out from ageing UK population
- Figure 45: Key metrics for selected brands, 2022
- Brand loyalty is low in beer
- Brand attitudes: Fosters and Carling lead on value perceptions, Peroni and Guinness on quality
- Figure 46: Attitudes, by brand, 2022
- Brand personality: Peroni and Beavertown score highest on the fun factor
- Figure 47: Brand personality – macro image, 2022
- Guinness has the strongest traditional and authentic image, Peroni is seen as the most sophisticated and stylish
- Figure 48: Brand personality – micro image, 2022
- Brand map
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Usage of Beer
- Six in ten adults drink beer
- Figure 49: Usage frequency for beer, 2019-22
- Ageing population to erode category sales
- Figure 50: Usage frequency for beer, by age group and how consumers describe their household finances, 2022
- Beer to lose out from the income squeeze, but less so than some other alcoholic drinks
- Six in ten adults drink beer
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Usage of Beer by Type
- Usage of all the main beer types remains unchanged from 2021
- Figure 51: Usage of beer by type, 2021 and 2022
- Ageing UK population will have different effects on the different beer types
- Figure 52: Usage of selected beer types, by age group, 2022
- Some beer types could fare better than others during the income squeeze
- Figure 53: Usage of selected beer types, by how people describe their financial situation, 2022
- Usage of all the main beer types remains unchanged from 2021
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Usage of Beer by Variety
- A third of beer drinkers drink craft
- Figure 54: Usage of beer, by variety, 2022
- A quarter of beer drinkers drink low/non-alcoholic variants
- Subtly underscore L/N/R alcohol beers’ good value credentials
- Present low/no alcohol beers as an aspirational choice
- Figure 55: Usage of low- and non-alcoholic beers, by how people describe their financial situation, 2022
- A third of beer drinkers drink craft
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Channels for Buying Beer
- One in four buys beer online
- Figure 56: In-store and online buying of beer, 2022
- Supermarkets lead on both in-store and online buying
- One in five buy beer from discounters
- Figure 57: Channels for buying beer, 2022
- Sales of beer through restaurants will lose out from ageing UK population, pubs will fare better
- One in four buys beer online
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Priorities when Buying Beer
- Beer type is the leading buying factor
- Figure 58: Priorities when buying beer, 2022
- Showcase the different beer varieties more prominently in-store
- Figure 59: Asda provides detailed information on particular beer types in-store, 2022
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- Figure 60: Example of an international supermarket giving detailed information on particular beer types, 2022
- Cost of living crisis will further undermine brand loyalty
- Figure 61: Those citing a previous positive experience with a brand as essential or preferred when buying beer, by how consumers describe their household finances, 2022
- A third see sustainability as essential or preferred
- Under-25s put particular value on sustainability
- Brands must continue to pursue their environmental goals through the economic downturn
- Beer type is the leading buying factor
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Behaviours Relating to Beer
- Income squeeze prompts cut-backs both in the on-trade and retail
- Figure 62: Behaviours relating to beer, 2022
- Capitalise on views of beer as an affordable treat in order to drive sales
- Opportunities for expansion in low/non-alcoholic beers
- On-trade venues should benefit from stocking more low/non-alcoholic beers
- L/N/R alcohol beer with added vitamins/minerals appeals particularly to under-35s
- Figure 63: International examples of vitamin/mineral-fortified alcohol-free beers, 2022
- Income squeeze prompts cut-backs both in the on-trade and retail
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Attitudes towards Beer
- Be more pro-active with meal pairing suggestions to drive sales during the income squeeze
- Figure 64: Attitudes towards beer, 2022
- Give more on-shelf visibility to food matching suggestions
- On-trade venues must put a stronger emphasis on dish-matching and smaller serves
- Promote special glassware in order to strengthen treat associations and drive purchase
- Strong perceptions that glassware makes beer experience more enjoyable
- Promotions and gifting can put glasses in fans’ path
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- Figure 65: Examples of beer and serving glasses gift sets, 2022
- Be more pro-active with meal pairing suggestions to drive sales during the income squeeze
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Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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Appendix: Forecast Methodology
- Market forecast and prediction intervals
- Figure 66: Market forecast and prediction intervals for total value sales of beer, 2017-27
- Figure 67: Market forecast and prediction intervals for total value sales of beer, 2017-27
- Market drivers and assumptions
- Forecast methodology
- Market forecast and prediction intervals
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Appendix: Market Share
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- Figure 68: Leading brand owners’ sales and share in the UK retail lager market, by value and volume, 2019/20-2021/22
- Figure 69: Leading brand owners’ sales and share in the UK retail ale and stout market, by value and volume, 2019/20-2021/22
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