One billion pints: beer giants prepare for booziest World Cup in history

{"text":[[{"start":8.25,"text":"Football fans are forecast to drink an extra 1bn pints of beer during the World Cup in a much-needed boost for the beleaguered brewing industry, which is battling cost inflation, sluggish demand and fears that it is stuck in long-term decline."}],[{"start":23.45,"text":"This year’s World Cup is an expanded 48-team competition featuring 104 matches, compared with the 64-game tournaments of previous years, setting the stage for the booziest World Cup in history."}],[{"start":36.35,"text":"To reach its 1bn pint estimate, analysts from Jefferies extrapolated beer consumption data from previous World Cups. The extra sales equated to a 3 per cent uplift during the 39-day tournament, which Jefferies annualised to 0.3 per cent, equating to 5.9mn hectolitres, or an extra 1bn pints."}],[{"start":57.400000000000006,"text":"Analysts expect the World Cup — which is being hosted across three major beer markets: the US, Canada and Mexico — to boost sales volumes by between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent for 2026."}],[{"start":70,"text":"Jefferies analyst Ed Mundy said “match timing is the unsung hero of World Cup beer consumption”, pointing out that games featuring countries in Europe and the Americas had largely been scheduled to coincide with peak local drinking hours of between 5pm and 11pm. The Americas and Europe were home to hotly tipped teams, host countries, and collectively represented about 55 per cent of global beer volumes, he added."}],[{"start":96,"text":"AB InBev, which owns brands including Corona, Budweiser and Stella Artois, stands to gain the most from the beer boom, both through its role as a tournament sponsor and because of its strong presence in host nations."}],[{"start":108.9,"text":"“It’s the largest World Cup ever . . . the expectation is gigantic,” said Marcel Marcondes, chief marketing officer of AB InBev."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":118.7,"text":"After taking into account brewers’ exposure by country, Jefferies estimates Heineken will benefit from a 0.27 per cent annual uplift to sales volumes, while Carlsberg, which has little exposure to the Americas, is forecast to see only a 0.15 per cent boost. "}],[{"start":135.7,"text":"The tournament, which kicks off on June 11, is set to deliver a significantly bigger boost to the industry than the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar. Following an eleventh-hour decision to ban drinking in stadiums four years ago, Budweiser announced it would ship all of its unsold beer to the winning nation in a campaign titled “Bring Home the Bud”."}],[{"start":155.79999999999998,"text":"Marcondes said that given each country’s beer consumption would depend heavily on the progress their team made in the tournament, AB InBev is retaining flexibility to shift stock around quickly this year. "}],[{"start":167.6,"text":"“We’re going to have containers full of Budweiser being shipped to the winning countries,” he said. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":172.79999999999998,"text":"Morgan Stanley analyst Sarah Simon warned that in instances where a country was knocked out of the tournament earlier than expected, companies risked being left with a glut of inventory. And when a country unexpectedly advanced to the latter stages, companies risked running out of beer in those markets, she added. "}],[{"start":190.49999999999997,"text":"The challenge for brewers, Simon said, was that they “will not know which teams have progressed at the point of shipping inventory”. "}],[{"start":198.44999999999996,"text":"A summer beer boom may help revive investor interest in a sector that has fallen out of favour. In addition to surging costs and depressed consumer spending, beer groups are contending with a long-term structural decline in beer consumption among increasingly health-conscious consumers."}],[{"start":214.04999999999995,"text":"According to data provider IWSR, global beer sales volumes fell by 1 per cent in 2025, driven by weak consumption in vast markets including the US and Brazil. "}],[{"start":226.29999999999995,"text":"Brewers have responded by diversifying into no- and low-alcohol options, or “premium” beers. Carlsberg has pivoted to soft drinks, acquiring J20 maker Britvic, while Heineken has tried to promote the social benefits of beer drinking. "}],[{"start":241.14999999999995,"text":"AB InBev has pushed harder into event marketing, targeting global sporting competitions including the Olympics and the World Cup, in an attempt to benefit from the resilient “experience economy”. "}],[{"start":261.44999999999993,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780793580_3653.mp3"}