Krombacher, Warsteiner & Co. rely on the "alcohol-free" megatrend

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A stopgap - there was not much more to alcohol-free beer in the past.

The drink for everyone who still had to drive.

Brands like Bitburger Drive even had this reason in their name.

“It's different today,” says Holger Eichele, the managing director of the German Brewers' Association (DBB).

"Today alcohol-free beer is no longer a substitute, but a separate category in the beer market." And an increasingly important one.

This is shown by current DBB figures that are exclusively available to WELT.

“No other variety has grown as strongly in the past ten years as non-alcoholic beers and non-alcoholic mixed beer beverages, the association reports on the German Beer Day on April 23rd.

Market share at seven percent

Around 6.6 million hectoliters of alcohol-free beer and malt drink were sold in Germany in the Corona year 2020.

That is 53 percent more than ten years earlier.

The market share in the mix of varieties in this country is now estimated at a good seven percent, so alcohol-free beer is almost on a par with mixed beer drinks and with the trend variety pale and even ahead of wheat beer and specialties à la country and cellar beer.

Meanwhile, the undisputed front runner is Pils, with a 50 percent market share.

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There are several overlapping developments behind the alcohol-free boom.

On the one hand, society is aging - and alcohol consumption decreases with age.

Nevertheless, many consumers do not want to do without the taste of beer.

On the other hand, topics such as health, fitness and wellness have been gaining in importance for years.

Beer for the fitness generation

And it is precisely this target group that the breweries deliberately address.

Manufacturers like Erdinger, Krombacher or Warsteiner advertise their non-alcoholic beer as isotonic and even as a sports drink.

"Krombacher 0.0% is aimed particularly at active and nutrition-conscious people," says the industry leader, for example.

Beer is an isotonic and vitamin-rich thirst quencher and thus an ideal alternative to water and sweet soft drinks.

This has also been scientifically proven, says a brewery spokesman with reference to a study by the Cologne Sports University.

Source: WORLD infographic

Krombacher now has 17 non-alcoholic beer and malt products on offer.

A spokesman puts the share in the total beer output of the private brewery at around 17 percent.

"Alcohol-free beers have an absolutely important position in our strategy of variety diversity," reports the family company.

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But competitor Warsteiner also wants to develop in this direction.

Brewery boss Christian Gieselmann has announced several new alcohol-free varieties for 2021.

In the end, the goal is a range of products that is differentiated according to target groups and that is unrivaled in the market: for drivers, for pleasure drinkers, for athletes, as a classic non-alcoholic with a Pilsner flavor, as a herb variant, as an isotonic drink, as a beer mix.

Because Gieselmann is convinced: "For me, alcohol-free is the megatrend of the coming years in the brewing industry."

"A bitter substitute for soda or spritzer"

Gieselmann is confirmed by market researcher Nielsen.

"It is becoming apparent that beer without alcohol is not a short-term trend and will establish itself in the long term," says Nielsen beverage expert Marcus Strobl.

From his point of view, alcohol-free beer is even developing into a soft drink.

“Today it is a bit of a bit of a bitter substitute for soda or spritzer.

The occasions for drinking non-alcoholic beer have also been steadily expanded.

In Germany nobody has to avoid beer anymore if they want to consciously avoid alcohol or stay alcohol-free. "

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Especially since the taste has improved significantly over the years, as experts report.

This is due, among other things, to new production processes such as reverse osmosis, dialysis or vacuum evaporation: In the past, fermentation of alcohol-free beer was usually stopped after a certain period of time; today, the beer is left to ferment and then the alcohol is removed from it.

This means that the taste and aromas of the beer are better preserved.

A current consumer study by Insa on behalf of the Brewers' Association shows how many consumers use alcohol-free beer.

According to this, almost one in two of the more than 2000 German citizens surveyed drinks alcohol-free beer.

"Market research shows that new households are now being reached that have previously consumed little or no beer," reports association boss Eichele.

Kölsch and Alt without revolutions

According to the survey, alcohol-free shandy is the most popular, followed by wheat beer and pilsner.

The variety of varieties has long been much greater since alcohol-free beer grew out of its niche.

There have long been regional beer styles such as Kölsch and Alt without rotations and even craft beers such as India Pale Ale (IPA).

According to DBB, around 700 of the total of 7,000 beer brands in Germany are now non-alcoholic beers and mixed beer drinks.

The segment has recently even managed to decouple itself from the dramatic development in the brewing industry.

In any case, Nielsen reports that non-alcoholic beers are holding up better in the Corona crisis than all types of alcohol.

And in 2020 there was only a slight decrease from 6.7 to 6.6 million hectoliters.

The overall market, on the other hand, has lost around five million hectoliters to the historically low value of 87.1 million hectoliters, as figures from the Federal Statistical Office show, due to the closed gastronomy and rows of unusual celebrations and festivals. In the course of the year to date in 2021, the crash will be many times more severe: In January and February, the combined loss in sales was around 23 percent.