Craft Breweries in 2024 with €14.6 Million in Revenue: Who is the Best?

The wave of domestic craft breweries, which started about a decade ago as a passion project of small enthusiasts and home brewers, is now a serious business with million-euro revenues.

Our newly acquired data on the top ten domestic craft breweries by revenue and profit shows that some have already moved into the league of medium-sized enterprises, with revenues in the millions of euros, while others are still balancing on the thin line between survival and growth. Namely, the ten largest Croatian craft breweries in 2024 collectively achieved nearly €14.6 million in revenue and a total profit of €579 thousand.

The strongest among them remains Pivovara Medvedgrad, which, with €4.3 million in revenue and €222 thousand in profit, is far ahead of the competition. In second place by revenue is The Bird (better known as The Garden Brewery) with €3.51 million, but with almost symbolic profit of just €1,600, thus with a profit margin of only 0.05 percent.

In contrast, the slightly smaller Nova Runda, which took sixth place with revenues of €1.19 million, achieved the highest profit margin of 10.7 percent. In third place is Zmajska pivovara with €1.85 million in revenue and €122.73 thousand in profit.

Of course, the market picture also shows losers. Last year, Brlog Cooperative Brewery and Mrazek (Varionica) ended in the red, with losses and negative profit margins.

However, it seems that what started as a movement of hobbyists has matured into a serious market entering a phase of consolidation. Revenues are growing, there are also losers, but efficiency and profitability vary greatly from brewery to brewery. It is precisely for this reason that we decided to find out how different players are faring on our list of the top ten.

Cooperatives as the Key to Success

Ana Teskera from Brlog Cooperative Brewery, which with €401.33 thousand in revenue and a loss of €44.7 thousand ranked eighth on our list, emphasizes that their success is largely tied to a specific form of organization. Cooperativism, she says, has been crucial at many stages of business development.

– For us, it was a timely entry into the market with the fact that we started as a cooperative. Cooperativism has been crucial for us on many occasions, from the very beginning and financing the startup without initial capital, to later crisis phases like COVID and so on. I would certainly mention the principled approach to product quality because without that you cannot last, let alone be among the top 10 or 20 brands – explains Teskera.

Regarding sales channels, Brlog follows the typical model of craft breweries where their own facilities bring the highest profitability, while the rest of the business is divided between hospitality and retail in a ratio that clearly shows where the focus lies.

– Profitability is certainly on the side of our own tasting room. After that, the remaining part of the beer goes (about 80 percent) through the HoReCa channel, and 20 percent through retail, where profitability is the weakest – notes the co-founder of Brlog.

Quality Above All

Davor Simičić from Mrazek, a brewery that ended last year in our analysis with a loss of €65.7 thousand, remains optimistic and focused on what he considers the foundation of success in craft brewing. Their brewery Varionica is the most awarded craft brewery in Croatia with about 20 medals from various competitions.

– It is a great advantage to be among the first in the market, and we entered this business with 100 percent dedication. We did not engage in parallel jobs but dedicated ourselves 100 percent to quality and building a recognizable brand. Constantly proving and maintaining quality is our guiding principle, and we are the most awarded craft brewery in Croatia – emphasizes Simičić.

He admits that maintaining margins in the face of rising costs is a significant challenge. Since the establishment of the brewery in 2014, they have only raised prices once, which shows how difficult the situation is for smaller producers.

– This is quite a difficult juggling act. Since we founded the brewery in 2014, we have raised prices only once. Very likely, we will soon be raising prices because this situation is unsustainable in the long term – says the founder of Mrazek.

Focus on the Local Market

Miroslav Šuvak from Nova Runda, whose brewery achieved the best profit margin of 10.7 percent, explains that their strategy has always been focused on product and controlled distribution. Instead of expanding in all directions, Nova Runda has built deep connections with local partners.

– From the very beginning, the main focus has been on the product, i.e., beer. We wanted to create a long-term story based on consistent and quality beer, with an emphasis on hopped beer styles that are still the main portfolio of Nova Runda today. APA and C4 are the flagships of our brand and are most represented among our colleagues at taps, which I would also note is a key factor – controlled distribution that allows better control over the product – explains Šuvak.

Their sales model clearly reflects this strategy of focusing on quality and locality, with as much as 80 percent of sales through the HoReCa channel in Zagreb and the surrounding area.

– This is quite simple in our case – about 80 percent of sales is through the HoReCa channel and that draft beer, and we are most represented in Zagreb. The goal is to bring beer primarily to the local area and to taps where the freshest beer will be consumed – adds the founder of Nova Runda.

Challenges of Distribution and Export

Andrej Čapka from Zmajska pivovara, which with €1.85 million in revenue ranked third, emphasizes that distribution problems are a constant obstacle for smaller producers. Despite the existence of specialized distributors, national coverage remains a challenge.

– All small breweries have always faced distribution challenges, although in Croatia we have several specialized distributors for craft beer and craft beer is present in the assortment of larger distributors, it is difficult to be quality nationally present, especially on the islands during the season when foreign tourists come who are already familiar with craft beer and seek it – explains Čapka.

Regarding exports, Zmajska pivovara, as the first Croatian craft brewery, remains loyal to the domestic market, although it has continuous exports to Slovenia and several other EU countries.

– Zmajska pivovara, as the first Croatian craft brewery, has been focused since its inception on producing and presenting quality and interesting beers to domestic beer drinkers, and we still have that focus and are working hard to ensure that our beers are primarily available on the Croatian market – says Čapka.

The Future of the Industry

All interlocutors agree that the craft brewing scene is going through a phase of consolidation, but that there is still room for growth. Ana Teskera from Brlog sees the need for further market education, especially in the hospitality sector.

– The market has changed a lot and will continue to change in all directions. I think there is still room for education in the HoReCa sector and upgrading, similar to how a certain transformation has occurred with wines, beer still needs work – notes Teskera.

Davor Simičić from Mrazek shares a similar view on the market potential, emphasizing that craft beer still occupies only one to two percent of the total beer market.

– The scene can always expand with quality breweries. Craft beer has a market share of about one to two percent – thus we see that there is room. The next five years are very difficult to predict, but I expect stagnation at best. I think we are currently in a market consolidation situation, and after that, a new wave of growth will certainly begin – concludes Simičić.