Krombach/Germany, January 15th, 2025. In a generally very challenging environment, Krombacher was able to assert itself in 2024 and further consolidate its market leadership as Germany's most popular beer brand in Germany. In the non-alcoholic soft drinks segment in particular, the Krombacher Group achieved relevant growth overall last year. The Krombacher Group's total output in 2024 was 7,570 million hectolitres (hl). This is a slight decrease of 0.8% compared to the previous year. The Krombacher umbrella brand sold 5,675 million hectolitres (-1.1%).
"We faced a number of challenges in 2024. A subdued consumer climate, a lack of distribution structures in parts of the retail sector at the beginning of the year, a rainy spring and, unfortunately, little impetus in the summer, despite a successful European Football Championship in our own country, were factors that influenced our result. Nevertheless, our results once again demonstrated the strong market position of our brands," says Hendrik Kuhn, Sales Director Retail.
Krombacher is and remains Germany's No. 1 beer brand
In an overall declining beer market, the market leader also suffered slight losses. Despite the difficult starting position, however, Krombacher was able to further consolidate its position as Germany's most popular beer brand. In addition to the flagship Krombacher Pils, it is above all the variety of flavours under the Krombacher umbrella brand that has proven to be the right strategy for several years now. This was also demonstrated in 2024, for example, by the very positive development of the non-alcoholic products Krombacher Spezi and Krombacher's Fassbrause.
In 2025, Krombacher will focus even more strongly on brand communication. The brand profile is to be further enhanced and the range of varieties expanded as an important building block for the future. A few weeks ago, Krombacher launched the largest innovation programme in the brewery's history, in order to meet the brewery's increased technical requirements, particularly as a result of the expansion of product diversity. This programme includes the conversion of the bottling plants in Krombach. A total of over 100 million Euros will be invested over the next six years to implement the most extensive modernisation project in the brewery's history.
The results in detail:
Quality, variety and strong brands as growth drivers
"We are consistently pursuing our path of transformation from a traditional brewery to a comprehensive beverage provider. The focus on high product quality, variety and strong brands has also shown us in 2024 that this is the right strategy for the Krombacher Group in the medium and long term," emphasises Hendrik Kuhn. "This year, we will continue to strengthen the profiles of our brands and expand our product range in a targeted manner. In order to achieve this, we are not only investing in plant and machinery, but above all in people. After all, the very positive long-term development and prospects of the Krombacher Group are only possible thanks to the continuous and passionate work of the many employees in our Group."