Kronenbourg capitalizes on the craze for tasting and non-alcoholic beers

Beer consumption didn't stop last year, but it has changed. This is shown by the publication, at the beginning of May, of the 2020 results of the brewer Kronenbourg (Bas-Rhin).

The Danish subsidiary Carlsberg recorded a slight increase in sales in supermarkets, by +0.3%, and logically a sharp drop in sales in cafes, hotels and restaurants (CHR), by -48%. Not enough to compensate for all the losses but at least to limit them. Overall, the turnover of the company of 1,000 employees fell by 12%, reaching 844 million euros. According to its Chairman and CEO, Rémy Sharps, the beer market in France has fallen by 7 to 10%. From 30 to 40% of the consumption of the CHR sector would have shifted to GMS (specialized supermarkets), up 8.4%.

So less beer in 2020, but better quality too. The weight of tasting, flavored or non-alcoholic beers in the brewer's sales is increasing. It rose to 35.2% in 2020, compared to 32.6% in 2019 and barely 10.2% in 2010. New products are due to be launched in these ranges in 2021.

Six months off

Like other brewers, Kronenbourg must quickly relaunch its production of barrels in view of the reopening of the terraces on May 19. The line concerned, with an annual production capacity of 1 million hectoliters in barrels (out of 7 million in total), was shut down for six months. It employs 15 to 20 people. “A month between the announcements and the reopening would have been better than the twenty days we have, comments the CEO. At the same time, we cannot say that it is a big surprise and we have already been working on this option for a few weeks. At the same time, the brewer recently launched a range of digital services for its CHR customers.

A first tranche of the investment of 100 million euros announced in 2018 will also be expected to materialize in the coming months. To the tune of 25 million euros, it will allow the development of truck parks and tools for the diversification and modernization of production. Kronenbourg has not appealed for state aid since the start of the pandemic, since it continues despite everything to experience positive results.