Research: Fewer Beer Drinkers in Croatia Compared to 2021, Craft Beer Loses Popularity

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As the summer season approaches, especially in a year when a major football competition is held, it is a very opportune time to gather genuine and honest opinions from ‘beer drinkers‘ about how and how much they consume this popular beverage and what their favorite variations are, which are increasing year by year.

Interestingly, the general question about consumption has shown a significant decline. Specifically, while in the 2021 survey, 79 percent of beer consumers were reported, that number has fallen to 71 percent this year. The research was conducted in April 2024 by Ja TRGOVAC magazine and the Hendal agency on a nationally representative sample of citizens of the Republic of Croatia aged 16 and older.

The number of daily consumers has also decreased, from 10 percent to 6 percent, while the number of those who drink beer several times a week remained at 26 percent, and a slightly smaller 20 percent consume this beverage once a week in both observed years. A quarter of consumers, 25 percent, drink beer several times a month, which is 2 percent more than in 2021, and the number of those who drink beer once a month has increased by 3 percent, now totaling 12 percent. Every tenth consumer drinks beer several times a year (10 percent in both years).

Consumption at home (either their own or at friends’ or relatives’) is the most common place to drink beer, as highlighted by 65 percent of surveyed beer consumers (2 percent more than in the previous survey), and consumption outside the home (cafés, pubs, restaurants, etc.) has also increased to 22 percent. Thirteen percent of consumers state that they consume equally at home and outside, which is 5 percent less than in 2021.

Most Popular Lager

One particularly interesting question is the consumption of beer from large producers, known as industrial beer, compared to the consumption of craft brewery beer. This year’s research has shown progress for industrial beer, preferred by 76 percent of beer consumers, which is 4 percent more than three years ago, while craft beer is the first choice for 9 percent of consumers, which is 2 percent less than in the previous survey. Fifteen percent of beer consumers say they drink both industrial and craft beer equally, which is 2 percent less than in 2021.

Lager or pilsner has increased its lead and is the most popular type of beer preferred by 73 percent of consumers, or 5 percent more than in the previous survey. Far behind in second place is fruit-flavored beer (radler), preferred by 12 percent of consumers in both observed years, and there were no changes in the consumption of ale beer, which is preferred by 6 percent of consumers. Beer is often categorized by color, so we also inquired about the consumption of dark beer, whose popularity has fallen from 9 percent to 4 percent over the last three years, while wheat beer has remained at a 4 percent share. Non-alcoholic beer is preferred by only 1 percent of beer consumers.

Only One Brewery Reports Decline in Revenue

Regarding the operations of the largest Croatian breweries in 2023, publicly available data indicate good results. Zagrebačka pivovara recorded an increase in revenue from 169 million euros to nearly 200 million euros, and profit also grew – from 26.5 million euros to 34.8 million euros. Karlovačka pivovara, or Heineken Hrvatska, also reports revenue growth – from 124.5 million euros in 2022 to 141 million euros in 2023, while profit is slightly lower at 8.3 million euros, compared to 10.4 million euros in 2022.

Even the most well-known craft breweries in Croatia are performing well. Zmajska pivovara achieved 1.6 million euros in revenue and 145 thousand euros in profit in 2023, which is an increase compared to 2022. Nova runda also increased its revenue last year to 1.1 million euros compared to 1 million euros in revenue the previous year. Profit nearly doubled – from 57 thousand euros in 2022, it rose to nearly 100 thousand euros in 2023.

However, only one craft brewery reported a decline in revenue and profit last year, which is The Garden Brewery. With 2.3 million euros in revenue in 2022, it achieved only 800 thousand euros in revenue the following year. Profit fell from 1.8 million euros in 2022 to 622 thousand euros in 2023.