The pandemic first, and now runaway inflation, are causing

the traditional beer, so associated with the bar counter in our country, to be disappearing

from some establishments.

Its consumption has plummeted 7%, it is losing weight in business billing and some have even eliminated it from their offer.

It doesn't help that the price has increased 7% in a year.

The consumption of reeds accounted for 21.6% of the billing per barrel in a hotel establishment in July 2019, before the pandemic.

In the same month of 2021, the year in which the hospitality industry was subject to restrictions, it was reduced to 14.5%.

Today, with the bars already without limitations, it is at 14.3%

, according to data from Horeca Digital Lab Nielsen, which records tickets in hospitality establishments.

They are seven points less than before Covid.

On the contrary,

the consumption of large glasses has grown by 10%

, since it went from representing 67% in July 2019 to 77% in the same month this year.

In other words, if before the pandemic of every 10 euros that we spent on beer, two were on drafts and eight on doubles, now it is barely one and a half euros out of 10. «

The highest consumption on the terrace and the offer in bars It has increased the weight of this large format

within the barrel consumption, to the detriment of the small one”, explains Celia Rodríguez, a beverage expert at the Nielsen consultancy.

«With the Covid there was a change in trend

and the pattern of consumption was changed, because we were forced to consume more on the terrace, where normally only doubles of beer can be consumed.

This habit has stuck », he explains.

In 2020 and 2021, when the hotel industry faced severe restrictions in order to stop the pandemic, consumption in bar counters was prohibited, which caused most establishments to stop serving small glasses of beer, since on terraces and tables only doubles can be consumed.

Beer consumption 2022

restrictions

Once the restrictions were eliminated,

some businesses have not directly recovered the cane.

«On the one hand, the bars are encouraging the consumption of doubles, because in some way they are trying to find a higher average ticket from the client.

We must bear in mind that we came from two years in which there was a collapse in consumption in the hotel industry, due to Covid, and now they are trying to make their businesses profitable, "says Rodríguez.

But on the other hand

"there has also been a change on the part of the consumer,

who during the pandemic had to choose or prioritize the moments of consumption in the hospitality industry, because there were much fewer, and that is why when he went out he raised his average ticket, he spent more", says the expert.

Added to this is the rise in prices, which in some cases reaches double digits.

Between April and June of last year, a small cane cost an average of two euros.

Now it is worth 2.15,

which represents an increase of 7%.

If we talk about the double cup, it goes from 2.61 euros to almost three, with an increase of 12% in price.

A bottle is 6% more expensive.

As for the global consumption of draft beer (includes all sizes and all taps: blonde, premium, without...), the average price has grown by 14%.

The increase in the price of cereals, as well as the costs of the brewing companies, has led some to announce that they were going to increase their prices.

In the case of beer that is consumed at home, this increase "takes longer to move,"

explains Rodríguez.

The average price of beer in the food channel (supermarkets, stores...) has grown by 3.8%, according to Nielsen data.

HABITS

Bar consumption accounts for more than half of the turnover of some hospitality establishments, especially in small towns, according to Hospitality of Spain.

As for beer, it

represents up to 25% of the turnover of bars,

a percentage that can rise to 40% in the case of smaller premises, with less than 10 employees.

The changes in consumption caused by the pandemic also reflect a transfer of it from the bars to the home.

According to the latest report from Cerveceros de España,

before the pandemic, 68% of beer was consumed in bars and restaurants, compared to 32% that was consumed at home.

In 2020, consumption in bars plummeted to 44% and for the first time it was surpassed by consumption at home (56%).

In 2021 they were balanced, at 51%.

This month of May 2022 has been the first in which beer consumption has grown "at a pre-pandemic level and we hope that this summer will be when the total market recovers," according to Nielsen.

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