With a turnover of €65.5m in 2021, the Brasserie Nationale Group has recovered after a "catastrophic" year in 2020 that was marked by the outbreak of the health crisis and the heavy restrictions put in place in the hotel and catering industry. Recovering its sales by 5.8%, the manufacturer of Bofferding and Battin beers is confident about the future, even though consumption patterns have changed significantly.
Lodyss water is now a mainstay of the brewery’s portfolio, with sales volumes up 50% last year compared to 8% for beer. However, beer still represents almost three quarters of the volumes produced by the Bascharage-based company.
In the hotel and catering sector, sales have recovered by 5% after a 45% drop between 2019 and 2020.
A thirst for consumption at home
On the other hand, in supermarkets, the 20% rebound observed between 2019 and 2020 was repeated last year, which testifies to a now well-established habit of consuming more beer at home. This phenomenon is also noticeable at Drinx.lu, the home delivery service run by Munhowen, the group's drinks distribution subsidiary. Its turnover jumped by 120% last year. The network of 11 Drinx and Le Chai outlets achieved a turnover of €15.5m, an increase of 5.2%.
We are approaching the future with efficiency, agility and an expanded customer base in the Greater Region.
"Continuing its efforts to optimise work processes, production and digitalisation, it is in terms of investment in the development of our customer base that the group has been most enterprising between 2020 and 2021," said managing director Frédéric de Radiguès. "Our group is already reaping the rewards of this strategy with an Ebitda that has tripled compared to 2020 to reach €7.5m. Confident in the future, we are approaching the future with efficiency, agility and an expanded customer base in the Greater Region.”
136 new pubs were added to Munhowen's portfolio last year, of which 40 were in Belgium. The group, which employs 253 people, is also keeping a close eye on other market developments such as the rise of alcohol-free beers, its organic beer range--it currently offers Funck-Bricher beer--the locavore trend for produce grown locally and the appetite for micro-breweries. From three units a few years ago, their number has increased to 27 in the Grand Duchy.
And while the brewery remains number one on the local market with 51% of the beers produced, its weight in sales is only 26% when taking into account imported beers. The cultural diversity of the local market and its tax system are challenges for the Bofferding manufacturer. On a global scale, its market share is around 0.0083%. The National Brewery is proof that it is possible to be the local market leader and still have the size of a microbrewery compared to the scale of giants such as ABInbev with its 29.30% market share.