Domestic small-scale breweries are closing one after the other

By: Trademagazin Date: 2023. 11. 03. 11:56

In the past ten years, a real revolution has taken place in the beer market in Hungary. In parallel with the flourishing of beer culture, high-quality Hungarian small-brewery beers, beer bars, festivals and competitions appeared, which determined the needs of domestic beer consumers. The 2010s obviously became the revolutionary decade of the Hungarian beer industry, but with the arrival of the 2020s, clouds gathered over small-scale breweries.

The combined sales of the country’s largest beer producers (Borsodi Sörgyár Kft., Carlsberg Hungary Kft., Dreher Sörgyárak Zrt., Heineken Hungária Zrt. and Pécsi Sörfözde Zrt.) were 6.463 million hectoliters in 2022, which is 1.3 percent more than in 2021 in , but 3.4 percent less than in 2019.

Rising energy and raw material prices, the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic, inflation, labor shortages and a saturated market are all problems for small-scale breweries. In addition to these difficulties, the events in Ukraine, such as the war and the shortage of glass, also present challenges to small-scale breweries.

The key to success is the growing demand for quality beer and the pioneering role of small-scale breweries in the market. Small-scale breweries were the first to fill the market niche of premium-category beers, and large companies followed this trend.