What you need to know
Total Brazil retail sales of beer grew 13.1% in 2015 and are estimated to reach R$89 billion in 2016 (10.7% growth year-over-year compared to 2015). Looking ahead, retail sales are forecast to reach R$126 billion by 2021. Volume consumption is set to increase 9% by 2021, reaching 12.7 billion liters.
Brazilians already drink great volumes of beer, mostly from the standard segment (the majority being lager). Although the main reason to not drink is related to health concerns, operators are still not investing in healthier products. The low-/no-alcoholic segment is still very small albeit growing year-over-year.
The craft movement is also still niche but keeps on growing. With tax breaks coming in the near future, the sector will likely to see a boost and expand.
Products covered in this report
This Report looks at the Brazil market for beer sold in both the on-premise, such as out-of-home outlets such as bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs where the drink is consumed on the premises, and the off-premise (retail) market, such as supermarkets, and convenience stores.
The main style of beer consumed in Brazil is lager, largely produced by the main breweries. This report also covers ale, which is a style often produced by craft breweries.
Lager can broadly be described as a light/amber, clear, carbonated beer brewed with pale kilned malts which, after fermentation, is filtered, pasteurized and conditioned before being packaged in cans, bottles or kegs for sale.
Ale refers to top-fermented beers including bitter and mild, pale, export and brown ales, stout, porter, barley wine and strong ales, as well as Indian and American pale ales, among others. These beers are so-called because the yeast floats to the surface during fermentation, as opposed to lagers, which are bottom-fermented. Barley wine is simply a beer with a very high ABV.
The main two segments analyzed in the market size based on their ABV (alcohol by volume) are:
Light/no/low: 0%-3.5%
Standard: 3.6%-5.4%
Strong and extra strong beers in Brazil are part of the premium segment, which represents around 6% of total beer volume and is included in the standard segment. Hence, the isolated involvement of higher alcohol content beers is not significant because it represents a slice of an already small niche market.
Market value and volume sizes are based on retail (off-premise).
Since 2015, according to the government’s definition, a special beer is a beer with 75% or more of malted barley in its composition. In Brazil, the term ‘special beer’ is commonly used to refer to craft and imported beers. It can also be used to describe any beer other than pale lager, the most common style in Brazil.
