Europeans are drinking less beer. Heineken’s Europe boss has a plan to avoid a brewing hangover
Source: Fortune ·
As Heineken battles falling beer sales, its European president is hoping that cost cuts, a restructure, and a push into alcohol-free beer can help slow the decline.
From the source
This summer was a bright moment for Europe’s brewers. Hot weather and the FIFA World Cup packed out beer gardens, and in Britain, the night that England beat Panama was pubs’ busiest of the year, with card transactions five times the daily average, according to Barclays. But behind the sunny terraces, a longer slump has been brewing. European consumers drink less beer than they did before the pandemic. Consumption fell 3.2% in 2025 and is down 9.2% since 2019, according to a report by the industry trade body Brewers of Europe. The slump has been pinned on sober-curious Gen Z drinkers and, more recently, weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. Glenn Caton, Europe president at Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, points to costs. “There’s no question that price inflation has impacted consumer consumption over time,” he told Fortune. Brewers had barely recovered from the pandemic when Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine sent energy and grain prices soaring. “Clearly raising prices has…