Because production costs have risen, beer will also be more expensive next year

Jacon Aarup-Andersen has only been the new CEO of brewing giant Carlsberg for 100 days and has already had to announce some bad news: the Carlsberg boss told Bloomberg that he would continue to increase the prices of the group’s beer brands. “Next year you will see further price increases from us,” says Aarup-Andersen.

Carlsberg currently brews approximately 140 different beers worldwide; in Switzerland the market share is approximately 45 percent. Feldschlösschen, Cardinal, Anker, Hürlimann, Gurten and Valaisanne, among others, belong to the Danish beer group.

The reason prices will rise is higher production costs. The best-selling beer in Switzerland will also be affected: as Feldschlösschen explains when asked by “20 Minuten”, price adjustments will take place “on some items”. Customers were informed about this in September.

The retail price of beer has fluctuated widely in recent years. At the end of November 2023, the average price was about 6.9 percent higher than in December 2020, while in July 2021 it was about 10 percent lower.

Prices will be increased in January. According to Feldschlösschen, the reason for the rising prices is that costs on the production and purchasing market have still not recovered. “We are confronted with significantly higher processing costs,” the brewery wrote in response to a question from “20 Minuten”.

The rise in beer prices is a new shock for Swiss consumers. In recent months, the costs of various foodstuffs have already risen sharply: for example, butter, margarine and shortenings, eggs, cheese, coffee and sugar sometimes cost considerably more than the year before. (pre)