Source: Radio New Zealand
Unsplash / Bence Boros
The fizz has gone out of the beer industry.
Stats New Zealand numbers out Tuesday show beer consumption fell 10 percent to 265 million litres in the year ended December 2025.
It’s part of a sustained downward trend in overall alcohol consumption, happening in New Zealand and around the world.
Brewers Association of New Zealand executive director Dylan Firth told Midday Report it saw a bit of a shift this past year.
But not only that, Firth said there have been a “slight decline” over recent years, giving the industry time to look at what it was doing and understand its consumers.
He said there was “definitely” more of a push towards the lower, no alcohol space.
Firth said the higher alcohol beers had taken more of a hit.
“If you actually break down the data closely, the real story isn’t just about total volumes that are moving, it’s about how they’re shifting.
“The beer above 5 percent ABV, it fell about 27 percent which is quite significant but at the same time, 2.5-4 percents category was broadly stable, in fact a slight increase, so what that shows is there’s a shift in that space.”
Firth said lower carb options had seen “massive growth” and he put it down to a generational shift.
He said the younger generation don’t drink as much and they are drinking less as they get older for health reasons.
Firth also said Covid-19 lockdowns saw a change in the way people meet – with a lot moving to online – meaning not as many people were going out socially to have a drink.
Despite this, beer wasn’t going away, he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
