Carlsberg shifts marketing focus as drinkers choose cheaper beer

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Brewer Carlsberg is shifting some of its marketing focus to cheaper brands, it said on Thursday, as consumers in major markets bought cheaper beer and in reduced quantities.

The maker of Kronenbourg 1664, Tuborg and Somersby said beer sales volumes fell by 1.3% in the third quarter, noting declines in China, France and the United Kingdom. Premium sales fell 0.5% in the quarter.

"In Western Europe, there's no doubt that the average consumer is holding back," CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen told Reuters.

"In Asia, China stands out as a market where the consumer is very weak. Most other Asian markets are actually okay," he said, adding the company had not yet seen Chinese stimulus measures having any impact on consumer behaviour.

For years, brewers have relied on a strategy of developing and promoting their more expensive premium brands to offset an overall decline in drinking.

Aarup-Andersen said he remained confident in the long-term growth potential of premium beer and that the category will comprise a significantly larger portion of Carlsberg's business in a decade.

For now, however, the company is adjusting its marketing.

"In markets where we are seeing a significant pressure on premium, we are reallocating some of our focus into making sure that we are promoting properly around the right mainstream brands," he said.

The world's third-largest brewer behind Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Heineken said third-quarter sales rose 1% to 20.5 billion Danish crowns ($2.98 billion), compared with 20.7 billion expected on average by analysts in a poll gathered by the company.

Despite the shift in consumer behaviour, Carlsberg said it still expects full-year organic operating profit growth to be between 4% and 6%. The company lifted its full-year guidance in August.

Carlsberg shares were 1.7% higher at 0914 GMT but were still trading near their lowest levels in since April 2020.

Also on Thursday, the world's largest beer maker Anheuser-Busch InBev reported third-quarter profits, revenues and volumes behind forecasts.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Essi Lehto and Barbara Lewis)