Beer becomes more expensive
Large brewers plan beer price increases
For two most popular German beer brands, price increases are in the room for autumn. But if you are aware of the beverage market, you don’t necessarily pay for it.
Beer could soon become more expensive for many consumers. The two large Brauer Krombacher and Veltins have announced price increases for both their bottle beer and fass beer for autumn. This not only confronted large customers of these breweries in the trade in price increases, but also many buyers in gastronomy. However, market researchers record as many action prices in stores as long.
According to the ranking of the beverage market magazine “Inside”, Krombacher has been the most drunk beer brand in Germany for a long time. After Krombacher and Bitburger, Veltins follows in third place. It is unclear whether other large breweries will also announce beer price increases. In addition, it is open to what extent the large trading groups will absorb the price increases that are now announced and implement in the end customer prices.
Both major brewers did not provide any information about the extent of the price increases. Industry observers consider it possible that the beer box with 20 half-liter bottles in the standard price could make around one euro.
For the major customers of Krombacher, beer not only becomes more expensive on the date of October 1, 2025. A spokesman said that a price increase was also announced about a month ago for the Bitterlimonad brand Schweppes. He justified the step with generally increased costs. Most recently, Krombacher increased prizes in spring 2023.
As of the October 16, 2025, Veltins also increases the delivery prices that play a major role in the gastronomy. This was announced to major customers at the end of May, said a spokesman. “We want to invest in gastronomy and trade due to the increased costs with the same intensity,” he said. Most recently, Veltins, according to its own statements, raised prizes two years ago in spring 2023.
According to Nielseniq market researchers Marcus Strobl, the large trading groups have recently promoted the favor of beer drinkers with a number of price campaigns in the past few weeks. “The prices are still under pressure,” he said. For weeks, consumers have been offering many opportunities to buy beer well below the shelf price, as have not been the case for a long time.
Action prices have hardly increased for years
For a long time, the drinkers of large Pils brands have been bought on average around two thirds of the bottle beer for actions such as 9.99 euros for the box in stores. With new price increases of large beer manufacturers, the already large distance between the standard price and promotion price in retail is expected to continue to diverge. “The promotional prices of the Pils brands have only increased slightly over the past ten years, but the shelf prices have already been used,” said market researchers.
dpa
Source: Stern
