The Dutch-brewing company, Heineken, announced that it will raise prices for its beer by strong amounts as it seeks to offset rising raw material and energy costs along with shipping rates.
“If you look at the inflation that we’re currently experiencing, it’s the highest in 10 years and it’s not just in our product categories — there might be a macroeconomic thing happening here,” Chief Executive Officer Dolf van den Brink told Fortune.com in a phone interview.
Heineken is the latest company to warn its drinkers of the increase, coming off the heels of its Danish rival, Carlsberg, announcing the possibility that earnings might not grow this year.
It could take several years for the European bar and restaurant industries to fully recover from the impact of the pandemic especially for those who had closures during this time. Still, the company’s premium brands, which include its namesake label and Amstel lager, have been especially resilient, the CEO said. Gains in Brazil and Nigeria have been helping offset some of the weakness in Europe.
Broek said the company aims to raise prices for its beer across the world to offset soaring expenses related to aluminum, which has risen 50% from January 2021, barley, which has doubled in cost, and freight from China to the U.S., which has “been going absolutely crazy.”
Still, Heineken said premium beer has been performing strongly, with its namesake brand growing 17% in 2021 and will continue to see a 17% target operating margin for 2023. Higher-priced beers account for more than 60% of its sales growth and CEO van den Brink said the brewer isn’t seeing consumers trading down to cheaper brands.