Alcoholic drinks in Austria witnessed a slight decline in volume sales over 2024. Generally, the long-term trend towards lower alcohol consumption has prevailed, driven by rising health awareness, especially among younger adults. The general decline in the social acceptance of heavy alcohol drinking has also led to lower levels of consumption in Austria. Overall inflation and unit price growth returned to healthier levels in alcoholic drinks during 2024, following the problematic hikes seen in recent years. Total value growth of alcoholic drinks has moderated in line with this trend. However, rising demand in the on-trade and higher unit prices was a key growth driver in 2024. The on-trade has been recovering from the low consumer mood in recent years and the noticeable shift towards home consumption that took place during the pandemic.
Beer was the largest category within alcoholic drinks in 2024, with volume sales declining due to the weak performance in the off-trade. In contrast to other categories, on-trade beer volume sales have stagnated at levels well below that seen pre-pandemic in 2019. A key factor has been the falling number of on-trade establishments in more rural areas that traditionally focus on beer. Many of these businesses have suffered from the massive rise in operating costs and lower consumer demand in recent years.
Brau-Union Österreich AG was the leading player within alcoholic drinks in 2024, holding a significant lead on the nearest competitor. With leading brands such as Gösser Maerzen, Puntigamer and Zipfer Urtyp in beer, the company has a solid grasp on the cider/perry category with Stibitzer and Strongbow. A growing number of consumers have become more sceptical about the dominance of Brau-Union Österreich AG in the beer category with some choosing to avoid consuming its brands. There has been a general increase in scepticism towards large corporations and their lack of transparency and potential ethical and moral weaknesses. Industry backlash has also gained traction in 2024, as a new association was formed by Brau-Union's competitors, including founding members of the Independent Brewers of Europe in 2024, which is a major critic of multinational beer producers at European level.
Supermarkets was the leading distribution channel for alcoholic drinks in 2024, with these retailers benefitting from very high regional coverage in Austria. For many consumers, supermarkets are the first port of call for large weekly grocery shops, and due to the underdeveloped convenience store channel in Austria, they are usually the first option for everyday quick purchases too. Discounters and hypermarkets both held ground in 2024. The former channel is known for its inexpensive private label ranges with a very good price-performance ratio, whilst the latter is known for having the widest product range in all areas of alcoholic drinks. Retail e-commerce, meanwhile, was the most dynamic distribution channel within alcoholic drinks in 2024.
In contrast to the ongoing downward trend in off-trade volume sales of alcoholic beverages, there was only a marginal volume decline in the on-trade. This is largely due to recovery from the pandemic, when consumers shifted towards home consumption. The shift back towards traditional lifestyles and on-trade consumption was slowed by the inflationary period during 2022 and 2023. Consequently, on-trade sales in the vast majority of alcoholic drinks categories are still well below pre-pandemic levels, with the preference for home consumption still evident. And this ongoing shift, together with faltering consumer confidence and the recent sharp rise in operating costs, has continued to put strong pressure on the profitability of foodservice businesses, disproportionately affecting bars, pubs and, most of all, nightclubs.
Total volume sales of alcoholic drinks are set to further weaken in the upcoming period. The long-term trend towards reducing alcohol consumption should continue, driven by increasing health awareness, especially among younger adults. With the social acceptance of alcohol and heavy drinking generally falling in Austria, more consumers will seek to reduce or even stop drinking alcohol. On-trade sales still have the potential to improve after falling to a very low level during the pandemic, with rising tourism also likely to provide a positive stimulus to volume sales. Nevertheless, in the vast majority of categories consumer demand is likely to decline over the latter part of the forecast period. The most notable categories with upside potential are RTDs, sparkling wine, and non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits. The growing range of non-alcoholic alternatives will certainly continue to attract a lot of short-term consumer interest in the forecast period. Still light grape wine and spirits will come under further pressure from the many healthier and cheaper alternatives.
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Alcoholic Drinks
Alcoholic drinks is the aggregation of beer, wine, spirits, cider/perry and RTDs.
See all of our definitionsThis report originates from Passport, our Alcoholic Drinks research and analysis database.
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