Extreme heat could change the mix for European drinks makers
Researchers found alcohol sales rise with temperature up to 32 C, while European heatwaves are pushing brewers to expand low- and no-alcohol options.
- Extreme heat across Europe is challenging the assumption that hot summers boost alcohol sales, as health authorities warn that alcohol increases dehydration and body heat during intense heatwaves.
- Researchers from the University of California, ETH Zurich, and North Carolina State University found alcohol sales rise with temperatures up to just over 32 degrees Celsius, after which the positive effect becomes smaller.
- Parish priest David Lambert said he was "less inclined to reach for an alcoholic drink" during 37.7 degrees Celsius heat in Norfolk, while London worker Teresa Angell noted, "There's just something about the sunshine that makes you want to pour a glass of wine."
- Carlsberg global director of public affairs Kristian Henningsen said the brewer is focusing on low- and no-alcohol alternatives to adapt, while Euromonitor International global insights manager Spiros Malandrakis noted heatwaves can increase production costs by impacting agriculture.
- Copernicus Climate Change Service data suggests heatwaves will become more frequent, while Statista data indicates over 40 per cent of the population already consumes soft drinks frequently, signaling a structural shift in European beverage preferences.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Extreme heat could change the mix for European drinks makers
The extreme heat wave in Europe is jeopardizing the idea that warmer summers drive alcohol sales. Studies indicate that consumers are less inclined to order an iced beer or a Spritz Aperol when temperatures become excessively high. Alcohol sales, on average, increase as the temperature rises to just over 32°C. Above this level, however, the positive effect decreases, according to research carried out by researchers from the University of Califor…
Hungarian Conservative
ussanews.comHeatwaves, Hydration, and the Quiet Decline of Alcohol: What Hungarians Drink in a Warming Summer
There is a quiet but measurable transformation underway in European—and Hungarian—beverage culture. It is not primarily about taste, branding, or even generational identity. It is about heat. As summers across Europe become hotter and longer due to climate change, drinking habits are being reshaped by a simple physiological reality: people hydrate differently when temperatures rise, and alcohol becomes less central to that equation. At the same …
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