Leading UK retailer Tesco, has predicted that this summer, England will become world champions... when it comes to beer sales.
The retailer said that of the countries competing in the World Cup, English lagers, ales and craft beers are so popular that they 'dwarf' the beer retail sales of their footballing rivals.
Beer sales in England have been driven by the popularity of domestically-brewed craft beers over the last few years.
Tough Competition
According to the retailer, Mexico are the closest rivals vying for England's crown, boasting heavyweight players such as Corona, Sol and Desperados. Spain, with San Miguel and Estrella Damm, place third.
“After 52 years of hurt it’s great to see England finally claiming a world title again," said Tesco World Beer category buyer Luke O’Connor.
“Carling lager and John Smith bitter remain the big scoring beers but just like the England team we are seeing plenty of fresh talent in the field especially in craft breweries like Camden, Vocation and Meantime, which have helped drive up demand for English brews."
Latest data shows that retail demand for craft beer at Tesco has soared by 200% since the last World Cup, while world beers have jumped by more than 40% in the same time period.
Global Tastes
“However, despite Brits remaining patriotic in their beer tastes, during major football tournaments we always see a sharp rise in demand for beers from all around the world," O'Connor added.
“During the last few World Cups and Euro football competitions we have seen a trend for people buying beers involving different nations in key games, so if Germany played Belgium we would see sales of Stella and Erdinger soar."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
