对于啤酒厂商而言,2023年是充满挑战的一年。年初,很显然消费者需要应对通胀问题,这意味着销售低迷。之后又发生了许多公司意想不到的一系列问题。
食品饮料价格高企,对啤酒以及鸡蛋和奶酪等商品都产生了影响,这就定下了2023年一整年的基调。然而,啤酒厂商在2023年曾强势开局,第一季度销售强劲,原因是消费者需求的回弹和中国的春节。
虽然全球第二大啤酒公司喜力(Heineken)在前三个月表现出啤酒销售疲软(销量下降3%)的初步迹象,但得益于涨价和高档啤酒需求,该公司依旧达到了全年经营利润预期。
但随后开始出现了新的挑战,百威(Budweiser)和时代(Stella Artois)啤酒的母公司、位于比利时的百威英博(Anheuser-Busch InBev)发现,其卷入了一场激烈的文化之争,这导致百威英博窖藏啤酒销售下滑,使百威昕蓝(Bud Light)失去了美国最畅销啤酒的地位。
而位于哥本哈根的嘉士伯(Carlsberg)与俄罗斯政府发生了冲突。后者没收了嘉士伯在俄罗斯利润丰厚的啤酒业务。
除此之外,这些不利因素的出现,恰逢啤酒厂商正在试图理解消费者饮酒偏好的变化,例如无酒精啤酒的日益走红。
因此,2023年对全球最大的啤酒厂商有哪些影响?
阻力与抵制
2023年4月,百威英博的美国啤酒业务百威昕蓝,因为聘请跨性别网红迪伦·马尔瓦尼作为代言人而陷入争议。这位TikTok网红在Instagram上发帖宣传百威昕蓝,结果引起了保守主义者的不满和抵制,随后百威英博否认了此次宣传活动。这又引发了LGBTQ+社区的批评,他们指责该啤酒厂商在事件发生后,没有为马尔瓦尼提供支持。
事件引发的连锁反应,导致百威英博美国销售额下滑了10.5%,相当于在4月至6月的一个季度,销售额同比减少了约4亿美元。
百威英博在美国的困境并未结束,在第三季度,由于市场份额缩水,其在美国的营收减少了13.5%。但作为全球最大的啤酒厂商,百威英博在其他地区的业务增长再加上涨价,使公司第三季度的营收达到156亿美元,同比增长了5%。百威英博还裁员数百名员工,称裁员是为了保证“未来的长远成功”。
虽然百威昕蓝广告灾难,对在布鲁塞尔上市的百威英博的营收产生了影响,但公司面临的一些挑战,包括高通胀导致的需求疲软,是其他同行也要面对的难题。
物价上涨影响消费
2023年,通胀和高生产成本意味着啤酒变得更加昂贵。有消费者开始选择更低价的品牌,例如喜力啤酒就遭遇了这种状况。
2023年上半年,位于阿姆斯特尔的喜力啤酒,营业利润同比下滑了22%,啤酒销量同比减少了5.6%。喜力在业绩报告中将这种状况归咎于物价上涨和“充满挑战的经济环境”。越南等地区的需求波动,是公司业绩低迷的另外一个原因。
在某些情况下,消费者承担了物价上涨,这帮助啤酒厂商在销量低迷的情况依旧可以维持盈利。例如百威英博的营收增长,抵消了销量下滑的影响。因此,虽然消费者的啤酒消费量减少,但啤酒厂商的营收却表现出上行趋势。
在不断变化的环境下,消费者注重预算
虽然定价是消费者担心的问题之一,但与此同时,大型啤酒厂商的高档啤酒业务却维持增长。疫情帮助推动了这种趋势,因为在疫情期间,被困在家中的消费者希望创造一种自己能够负担得起的高档体验。
以嘉士伯为例。嘉士伯的俄罗斯业务波罗的海啤酒厂(Baltika Breweries)被俄罗斯当局没收后,经历了几个月的动荡。被“盗走的”波罗的海业务,在2021年占嘉士伯集团营收的13%,这可能对该丹麦啤酒厂商的业务造成影响,影响程度会在嘉士伯年底的业绩中体现出来。
嘉士伯CEO雅各布·阿鲁普-安德森在2023年10月曾对《财富》杂志表示:“此次事件的财务损失会体现在我们2023年的财务账目当中,因此从2024年开始,我们将在没有俄罗斯业务的情况下继续前行。事态的发展非常非常令人难过和惋惜。”嘉士伯第三季度的营收强劲,但啤酒销量下滑。
尽管未来前景充满不确定性,但嘉士伯的高档啤酒和无酒精啤酒业务却大幅增长。百威英博也不例外。该公司在业绩发布会上表示,其高档啤酒业务推动第三季度全球业务实现了增长。
消费者偏好发生变化,更钟爱无酒精啤酒,这也为啤酒厂商创造了新的发展机遇。随着消费者选择更健康的替代产品,传统啤酒业务受到威胁,而无酒精啤酒也可以作为应对这些趋势的解决方案。
为2024年做好准备
尽管在一些全球最大的经济体,通货膨胀已经表现出减弱的初步迹象,但由于生产成本居高不下,啤酒厂商依旧面临压力。据布鲁塞尔行业机构欧洲酿酒商协会(Brewers of Europe)估计,2023年年中,生产成本比2019年上涨了约25%。因此,2024年啤酒的价格可能会继续上涨。
阿鲁普-安德森在2023年10月接受《财富》杂志电话采访时表示:“如果从公司啤酒生产总成本的角度来看,我们预测成本会继续小幅上涨。这也意味着,我预测在2024年还会有一定程度的价格上涨,但不会达到2023年的涨幅。”
随着运营成本下降,啤酒厂商的利润空间也会扩大,这或许能让价格趋于稳定,但不会下降。
德国资产管理公司Union Investment的投资组合经理莫里茨·克罗农伯格在2023年10月曾对路透社表示:“一旦全球三大啤酒厂商[百威英博、喜力和嘉士伯]中有一家涨价,通常就不会再下调价格。”
2024年,经济动荡也可能对消费者需求产生严重影响,喜力表示该公司正在密切关注2023年出现显著下滑的一些市场。
将价格问题放在一边,2024年对啤酒厂商而言,可能是市场规模和产品组合扩张的一年。百威英博在2023年7月宣布,将投资3,100万欧元(约合3,400万美元)对其在比利时的部分啤酒厂进行更新换代,以扩大其低端和无酒精啤酒业务。而嘉士伯预计将发展亚洲市场,并加大对市场营销和品牌宣传的投资。(财富中文网)
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
对于啤酒厂商而言,2023年是充满挑战的一年。年初,很显然消费者需要应对通胀问题,这意味着销售低迷。之后又发生了许多公司意想不到的一系列问题。
食品饮料价格高企,对啤酒以及鸡蛋和奶酪等商品都产生了影响,这就定下了2023年一整年的基调。然而,啤酒厂商在2023年曾强势开局,第一季度销售强劲,原因是消费者需求的回弹和中国的春节。
虽然全球第二大啤酒公司喜力(Heineken)在前三个月表现出啤酒销售疲软(销量下降3%)的初步迹象,但得益于涨价和高档啤酒需求,该公司依旧达到了全年经营利润预期。
但随后开始出现了新的挑战,百威(Budweiser)和时代(Stella Artois)啤酒的母公司、位于比利时的百威英博(Anheuser-Busch InBev)发现,其卷入了一场激烈的文化之争,这导致百威英博窖藏啤酒销售下滑,使百威昕蓝(Bud Light)失去了美国最畅销啤酒的地位。
而位于哥本哈根的嘉士伯(Carlsberg)与俄罗斯政府发生了冲突。后者没收了嘉士伯在俄罗斯利润丰厚的啤酒业务。
除此之外,这些不利因素的出现,恰逢啤酒厂商正在试图理解消费者饮酒偏好的变化,例如无酒精啤酒的日益走红。
因此,2023年对全球最大的啤酒厂商有哪些影响?
阻力与抵制
2023年4月,百威英博的美国啤酒业务百威昕蓝,因为聘请跨性别网红迪伦·马尔瓦尼作为代言人而陷入争议。这位TikTok网红在Instagram上发帖宣传百威昕蓝,结果引起了保守主义者的不满和抵制,随后百威英博否认了此次宣传活动。这又引发了LGBTQ+社区的批评,他们指责该啤酒厂商在事件发生后,没有为马尔瓦尼提供支持。
事件引发的连锁反应,导致百威英博美国销售额下滑了10.5%,相当于在4月至6月的一个季度,销售额同比减少了约4亿美元。
百威英博在美国的困境并未结束,在第三季度,由于市场份额缩水,其在美国的营收减少了13.5%。但作为全球最大的啤酒厂商,百威英博在其他地区的业务增长再加上涨价,使公司第三季度的营收达到156亿美元,同比增长了5%。百威英博还裁员数百名员工,称裁员是为了保证“未来的长远成功”。
虽然百威昕蓝广告灾难,对在布鲁塞尔上市的百威英博的营收产生了影响,但公司面临的一些挑战,包括高通胀导致的需求疲软,是其他同行也要面对的难题。
物价上涨影响消费
2023年,通胀和高生产成本意味着啤酒变得更加昂贵。有消费者开始选择更低价的品牌,例如喜力啤酒就遭遇了这种状况。
2023年上半年,位于阿姆斯特尔的喜力啤酒,营业利润同比下滑了22%,啤酒销量同比减少了5.6%。喜力在业绩报告中将这种状况归咎于物价上涨和“充满挑战的经济环境”。越南等地区的需求波动,是公司业绩低迷的另外一个原因。
在某些情况下,消费者承担了物价上涨,这帮助啤酒厂商在销量低迷的情况依旧可以维持盈利。例如百威英博的营收增长,抵消了销量下滑的影响。因此,虽然消费者的啤酒消费量减少,但啤酒厂商的营收却表现出上行趋势。
在不断变化的环境下,消费者注重预算
虽然定价是消费者担心的问题之一,但与此同时,大型啤酒厂商的高档啤酒业务却维持增长。疫情帮助推动了这种趋势,因为在疫情期间,被困在家中的消费者希望创造一种自己能够负担得起的高档体验。
以嘉士伯为例。嘉士伯的俄罗斯业务波罗的海啤酒厂(Baltika Breweries)被俄罗斯当局没收后,经历了几个月的动荡。被“盗走的”波罗的海业务,在2021年占嘉士伯集团营收的13%,这可能对该丹麦啤酒厂商的业务造成影响,影响程度会在嘉士伯年底的业绩中体现出来。
嘉士伯CEO雅各布·阿鲁普-安德森在2023年10月曾对《财富》杂志表示:“此次事件的财务损失会体现在我们2023年的财务账目当中,因此从2024年开始,我们将在没有俄罗斯业务的情况下继续前行。事态的发展非常非常令人难过和惋惜。”嘉士伯第三季度的营收强劲,但啤酒销量下滑。
尽管未来前景充满不确定性,但嘉士伯的高档啤酒和无酒精啤酒业务却大幅增长。百威英博也不例外。该公司在业绩发布会上表示,其高档啤酒业务推动第三季度全球业务实现了增长。
消费者偏好发生变化,更钟爱无酒精啤酒,这也为啤酒厂商创造了新的发展机遇。随着消费者选择更健康的替代产品,传统啤酒业务受到威胁,而无酒精啤酒也可以作为应对这些趋势的解决方案。
为2024年做好准备
尽管在一些全球最大的经济体,通货膨胀已经表现出减弱的初步迹象,但由于生产成本居高不下,啤酒厂商依旧面临压力。据布鲁塞尔行业机构欧洲酿酒商协会(Brewers of Europe)估计,2023年年中,生产成本比2019年上涨了约25%。因此,2024年啤酒的价格可能会继续上涨。
阿鲁普-安德森在2023年10月接受《财富》杂志电话采访时表示:“如果从公司啤酒生产总成本的角度来看,我们预测成本会继续小幅上涨。这也意味着,我预测在2024年还会有一定程度的价格上涨,但不会达到2023年的涨幅。”
随着运营成本下降,啤酒厂商的利润空间也会扩大,这或许能让价格趋于稳定,但不会下降。
德国资产管理公司Union Investment的投资组合经理莫里茨·克罗农伯格在2023年10月曾对路透社表示:“一旦全球三大啤酒厂商[百威英博、喜力和嘉士伯]中有一家涨价,通常就不会再下调价格。”
2024年,经济动荡也可能对消费者需求产生严重影响,喜力表示该公司正在密切关注2023年出现显著下滑的一些市场。
将价格问题放在一边,2024年对啤酒厂商而言,可能是市场规模和产品组合扩张的一年。百威英博在2023年7月宣布,将投资3,100万欧元(约合3,400万美元)对其在比利时的部分啤酒厂进行更新换代,以扩大其低端和无酒精啤酒业务。而嘉士伯预计将发展亚洲市场,并加大对市场营销和品牌宣传的投资。(财富中文网)
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
Brewers have had a 2023 filled with curveballs. Early on in the year it was clear that consumers would be battling inflation—signaling damp sales as a result. But then came a wave of problems many businesses could not have predicted.
The high price of food and beverage items impacted beer just as much as items like eggs and cheese, setting the tone for the year to come. Nonetheless, 2023 opened strong with big brewers bringing in strong sales in the first quarter, driven by resilient consumer appetite and Chinese New Year activity.
Although the world’s second-largest beer company, Heineken, showed initial signs of cracking with beer sales plunging 3% in the first three months, the group managed to maintain its full-year operating profit expectation, thanks to price increases and premium beer demand.
But new challenges began to emerge when Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Belgian-based owner of Budweiser and Stella Artois beers, found itself in a heated culture war. The controversy resulted in a decline in the sale of its lager and lost Bud Light the status of America’s top-selling beer.
Elsewhere, Copenhagen-based Carlsberg was caught in a tussle with the Russian government which seized its lucrative beer operations in the country.
On top of that, these headwinds come at a time when brewers are trying to make sense of shifting drink preferences, seen in the growing popularity of nonalcoholic beer.
So, how has 2023 shaped up for the world’s biggest brewers?
Backlash and boycotts
In April, American brewing arm Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light beer became the subject of controversy when a sponsorship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney went awry. An Instagram post by the TikTok star promoting Bud Light attracted backlash and calls for boycott from conservatives, following which AB InBev disavowed the campaign. That sparked criticism from the LGBTQ+ community for the brewer’s lack of support for Mulvaney after the fallout.
The ripple effect of the row led to a 10.5% drop in U.S. sales, worth about $400 million on a year-over-year basis in the April-to-June quarter.
AB InBev’s pain in the U.S. has continued as its Q3 revenues in the region fell 13.5% due to a loss in market share. But as the world’s largest brewer, the company’s business in other regions coupled with price increases helped it draw in $15.6 billion in revenues for that period, up 5% from a year earlier. AB InBev also laid off hundreds of corporate workers across the U.S. to ensure “future long-term success,” the company said.
While the Brussels-listed AB InBev’s earnings have been overshadowed by the disastrous Bud Light ad campaign, some of its challenges, including easing demand due to high inflation, have been shared by its rivals.
Shunning the price rise
Inflation and high production costs meant beers became more expensive in 2023. Some consumers began shunning these brews in favor of cheaper ones, as in the case of Heineken.
The Amstel beer maker saw a 22% drop in operating profits as well as a 5.6% decline in overall year-over-year beer sale volumes for the first half of the year, which Heineken attributed to a price increase and a “challenging economic backdrop” in its earnings report. Volatility in demand from specific regions such as in Vietnam added to the lackluster results.
Consumers have, in some cases, absorbed the price increases, helping brewers make gains even where volumes didn’t deliver. This was seen with AB InBev, wherein revenue managed to swell and offset the slump in volumes. So, even as consumers bought lesser beer, the topline has shown an upward trajectory.
Budget-conscious consumers in a changing landscape
While pricing seems to be a cause for concern among consumers, it has also coincided with the growth of premium beer for big brewers. The pandemic helped cement this trend as consumers confined to their homes sought to create affordable, yet premium experiences for themselves.
Carlsberg is a case in point. The company has had a turbulent few months grappling with the seizure of its Russian business, called Baltika Breweries, by Kremlin authorities. The “stolen” Baltika business, which accounted for nearly 13% of Carlsberg’s group revenue in 2021, could potentially hurt the Danish brewer—the full extent of which will be understood in its year-end results.
“We are taking the full financial hit in this year’s financial accounts so we can, from next year onwards, move on without Russia on the books, which is [a] very, very sad and unfortunate turn of events,” Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen told Fortune in October, when the company reported strong third-quarter revenues along with a volume drop in beer sales.
Amid uncertainty looming over Carlsberg, the company clocked in strong growth of the premium and alcohol-free beers in its portfolio. AB InBev was no exception to the trend as the premium segment drove Q3 growth across the globe, the company said in its earnings release.
Consumers’ changing preference for alcohol-free beers has also helped create new areas of growth for brewers. No-alcohol beers could also serve as an answer to other trends that could threaten the traditional brewing business as consumers look for healthier alternatives.
Gearing up for 2024
Although inflation shows early signs of abating in some of the world’s biggest economies, beer makers are still under pressure due to elevated production costs. Costs were estimated to be up to 25% higher in mid-2023 compared to 2019, according to Brussels-based industry body the Brewers of Europe. Consequently, beer is likely to get more expensive through next year.
“If we look at the total cost for the company, the total cost of producing beer, we’re seeing that costs continue to go up slightly,” Aarup-Anderson told Fortune on a call in October. “That also means my expectation is that there will be some level of price increase also in 2024, [but] not to the extent that we’ve seen in 2023.”
Margins for brewers could expand as operation costs cool down, which might get prices to stabilize but not reduce.
“Once one of the big three names [AB InBev, Heineken, and Carlsberg] have lifted their prices, they usually never give it back,” Moritz Kronenberger, portfolio manager at Germany’s Union Investment, told Reuters in October.
Economic volatility could also weigh heavily on consumer demand next year, as Heineken said it is keeping an eye on some markets where it saw a remarkable slowdown in 2023.
Pricing aside, 2024 could be a year of expansion—both by region and within beer portfolios. AB InBev announced in July that it would invest €31 million ($34 million) into upgrading some of its Belgian breweries to expand its low- and no-alcohol beer portfolio. Meanwhile, Carlsberg expects to grow in Asian markets and invest further in marketing and branding initiatives.