The heat wave in Europe is calling into question the assumption that hot summers lead to an increase in alcoholic beverage sales, with surveys showing that consumers are less inclined to enjoy an ice-cold beer or an Aperol Spritz when it’s excessively hot.
On average, sales of alcoholic beverages rise when the temperature exceeds 32 degrees Celsius; however, researchers from the University of California, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), and North Carolina State University.
The effect of the beverage varies by region and is less pronounced in already warm climates, as highlighted in this March study, which was based on U.S. retail sales data from 2006 to 2023.
“In general, hot weather is good for consumption. But there’s also a ceiling… beyond which it’s just uncomfortably hot,” says Marten Lodewijk, president of the beverage market research firm IWSR, adding that this reverses the trend for some consumers.
This summer’s heatwave in Europe, which began on June 20, was the most severe ever recorded on the continent, causing thousands of excess deaths and straining healthcare systems, creating problems with energy production, and damaging infrastructure.
European health authorities have announced that citizens should avoid alcohol, which increases dehydration and raises body temperature.
Alcohol consumption and its sale in stores were banned for a short period in Paris.
“There’s a significant difference between warm weather and extreme heat,” explains Carlsberg’s public relations director, Christian Henningesen, adding that extreme heat can lead consumers to stay indoors rather than go out for a drink.
The Danish brewery is focusing on offering consumers more options, such as non-alcoholic beers or soft drinks, in part to adapt to such changes, Henningesen told Reuters.
Leading brewers, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, have in the past blamed lower- or higher-than-seasonal temperatures for their disappointing summer revenues, when consumers typically turn to lighter and more refreshing beverages such as beer.
Spyros Malandrakis, an alcoholic beverage market analyst at the multinational firm Euromonitor International, says that more heat waves could have mixed effects for those in the beverage trade.
In addition to causing some people to drink less, heat waves can harm economies and purchasing power, as well as agriculture, by increasing the production costs of alcoholic beverages, he explains.
Malandrakis predicted, however, that some people will drink more in a world that “feels like it’s literally on fire.”
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that heat waves will become more frequent and intense, while scientists have said that heat waves in Europe would be nearly impossible without human-induced climate change, which is warming at a faster rate than any other continent.
SOURCE: APE