Carlsberg CEO says inflation could hit beer sales in 2023

DANISH brewer Carlsberg has seen little evidence of rising inflation hitting beer sales, but that could change going into 2023 as brewers continue to raise prices, chief executive Cees ‘t Hart said on Thursday (Oct 27).

“So far we have seen very little evidence of any consumer impact of rising inflation,” Hart said on a conference call following a quarterly trading statement published on Wednesday.

“But as inflation continues to increase and brewers raise prices again in the second half of this year and beginning of 2023, we see a bigger risk ahead of downtrading and lower volumes,” he said.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg, the world’s largest and third-largest brewers, respectively, have raised full-year profit outlook this week.

Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, has seen signs of slowdown in demand for its beer in some European markets over recent weeks.

“We increasingly see reasons to be cautious on the macroeconomic outlook, including some signs of softness in consumer demand,” chief executive Dolf van den Brink said in a statement.

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Heineken sees slowdown in demand for some European markets

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The brewer previously said rising inflation could limit consumer purchasing power and beer consumption. Heineken, like other brewers, also faces higher costs for raw materials and energy. REUTERS