After a very successful first half of the year, Carlsberg has seen a solid increase in the sales of speciality and non-alcoholic beers. The Danish brewer is optimistic and will be investing further in e-commerce.
New partnerships
In the first half of this year, Carlsberg sold around 10 % more beer, meaning the brewer did better than expected. CEO Cees ‘t Hart warns for continuing uncertainty in the rest of the year, but given the strong results in the first half and the good start of the third quarter, he has raised profit growth targets from 5 to 10 % to between 8 and 11 %.
Beer sales in the retail channel continue to evolve positively, although growth weakened somewhat in the second quarter due to the reopening of the hospitality industry in most European countries. Sales of speciality beers increased by more than 20 %, and non-alcoholic beers grew by more than 25 %.
The brewer continues to focus on e-commerce and digital platforms. In China, online-to-offline sales grew by 130 %, and in Europe, Carlsberg is partnering with new e-commerce partners, including express delivery services. The company also sees substantial progress for the online business-to-business platform Carl’s Shop, where businesses within the hospitality industry can place orders.
