T. Ozbun
Research expert covering food retail and all food topics for Italy and Brazil
Beer industry in Italy - statistics & facts
Beer in Italy has suffered competition from wine, the country’s main alcoholic beverage, which has always surpassed beer in terms of revenue generated. Despite not being among the world’s leading beer producers, Italy has been on a path of growth that has led it to produce around 17.4 million hectoliters of beer according to the latest data.
Italy, however, is among the European countries with the largest number of breweries and microbreweries and the second largest importer of beer after the United Kingdom.
The increase in beer production was accompanied by an increase in sales, which, after steady growth, faced a partial setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic before rebounding significantly in the most recent reported period. Likewise, off-trade beer sales, which had been on an upward trajectory prior to the pandemic, received an additional boost from it, peaking at nearly 73 percent of total beer sales before decreasing and stabilizing in the subsequent years. The Heineken company, which owned some of the most famous national brands such as Moretti, Ichnusa, and Messina accounted for the majority of beer sales in Italy. Other sales occurred under brands such as Peroni, owned by the Japanese Asahi Breweries, and Anheuser-Busch InBev, clearly showing that close to two-thirds of the share of beer sales were from foreign-owned companies.
Nevertheless, beer consumption has been on the rise, and the share of beer drinkers has grown to comprise just over half of the country’s population. Although the popularity of beer was more widespread among men, the share of women consuming beer has grown steadily in recent years. However, as with other types of alcohol, Italians seemed to prefer drinking beer with meals, particularly at dinner.
Beer trade, production, and sales
Over the past nine years, the volume of beer imports into Italy has maintained relative stability, whereas exports have demonstrated generally consistent growth, aligning with the overall trend observed in the country's beer production levels. Most imports came from Germany, while exports went to the United Kingdom by a large margin compared to other countries.The increase in beer production was accompanied by an increase in sales, which, after steady growth, faced a partial setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic before rebounding significantly in the most recent reported period. Likewise, off-trade beer sales, which had been on an upward trajectory prior to the pandemic, received an additional boost from it, peaking at nearly 73 percent of total beer sales before decreasing and stabilizing in the subsequent years. The Heineken company, which owned some of the most famous national brands such as Moretti, Ichnusa, and Messina accounted for the majority of beer sales in Italy. Other sales occurred under brands such as Peroni, owned by the Japanese Asahi Breweries, and Anheuser-Busch InBev, clearly showing that close to two-thirds of the share of beer sales were from foreign-owned companies.
Beer consumption
Although Italy ranked among the top beer-consuming countries in Europe, this was mainly due to the size of its population. In fact, when considering per capita consumption, Italy ranked third to last, just above France and Greece.Nevertheless, beer consumption has been on the rise, and the share of beer drinkers has grown to comprise just over half of the country’s population. Although the popularity of beer was more widespread among men, the share of women consuming beer has grown steadily in recent years. However, as with other types of alcohol, Italians seemed to prefer drinking beer with meals, particularly at dinner.
