Canadean predicts no big turnaround for western Europe’s drinks volumes

In 2009 alcoholic drinks volumes dropped by more than 2 percent, a figure that is forecast to slow down to a 1 percent loss in 2010.

Beer in particular was hit by the sharp drop in on-premise consumption last year and sales across western Europe fell by nearly 3 percent. The economic climate meant western Europeans spent a lot less on eating and drinking out last year.

On a brighter note, some markets were beginning to show signs of improvement in the Horeca sector (ie hotels, restaurants, cafés) in the last quarter of the year.

Soft drinks recorded a small rise last year, but Canadean is not anticipating demand to accelerate as markets emerge from the gloom of the downturn. The summer of 2009 was actually notably hotter than 2008 in certain key markets and this was responsible for much of the upswing.

In 2010, water is set to record another loss, says Canadean, while carbonates are predicted to increase again. The region’s biggest category with more than 30 percent of volumes has been helped by the shift from on- to off-premise, with consumers buying bigger unit sizes to take home and drink than they would if they were eating or drinking out.

What will be encouraging to the industry is that only two markets in the region are forecast not to register an improved volume performance in 2010: France and Sweden, and even then the variances are insignificant, say the Canadean specialists.

The market does seem to be going in the right direction if only slowly. The challenge for the industry will be to reinstate some value into the market.