Despite a challenging year, beverage sales in Italy recorded positive growth in 2020, with the beer market seeing a €2 billion turnover for the first time, a new report from IRI has revealed.
Beverage sales in the 'bricks and mortar' retail channel increased by 4.4% in volume and 5% in turnover.
Alcoholic drinks drove this growth, with wine and sparkling wine sales registering a 5.6% and 6.7% increase, respectively. Sales of aperitifs rose by 23.8% in this period.
Colder weather, particularly in June and July, impacted non-alcoholic beverage sales.
Flat beverages, such as tea, flavoured waters and isotonic, beverages saw sales down by 4.6% in volume, while water (+1.9%), juices and nectars (+1.4%), carbonated drinks (+2.7%), and energy drinks (+10.8%) all witnessed increased sales.
Consumption Pattern
Beer sales were up 10.7% in terms of turnover and 9% in volume, with consumers shifting to 'at home' consumption.
Despite reduced availability in-store due to logistics problems, speciality beer sales grew 18.9% in value and is now the second most sold category with an 18.9% share.
Other beer categories that registered growth in this period include standard (+9.5%) and light non-alcoholic beers (+4.9%).
Beer Sales
The report also revealed that beer sales in the discount channel (+15.7%) are growing at almost twice the rate of other distribution channels, driven by new store openings.
In the beverage wholesale channel, beer sales, which account for 37% of turnover, recorded a 35.4% drop in volume and 35.8% in revenue. Overall sales in this channel were down -31.4% in 2020.
In the cash and carry channel, beverage sales dipped 0.9% in volume and 13.3% in value. Water and aperitifs were the only categories to see growth in this channel.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
