Dutch Supermarket Sales of Non-Alcoholic Beer Rose About 10% Through September

Sales of non-alcoholic beer in Dutch supermarkets rose by about 10% in volume from January through September, according to Nielsen data cited by trade publication Biernet and echoed by brewer AB InBev, pointing to continued growth in a category that has been expanding its place in the Netherlands’ beer market.

The figure was highlighted in an AB InBev Netherlands statement published on November 6 and further specified by Biernet, which said the increase applied to supermarket sales volumes during the first nine months of the year. The data refers to physical sales volume rather than revenue, so it indicates more beer was sold in the channel without being distorted by price changes.

The available information is limited. Neither the company statement nor the trade report published the underlying Nielsen tables, absolute volumes or a full methodological note. The sources also did not provide a detailed comparison base in the public material. Because of that, the roughly 10% increase should be read as a reported market rate from the cited sources, not as an independently verified calculation from original data.

The figures also cover only one part of the Dutch beer business. They refer to supermarkets, not the entire national market, and they do not show what happened in bars, restaurants, specialty stores or other retail channels. That means the data offers a clear sign of demand in a major consumer outlet, but not a complete picture of all beer sales in the Netherlands.

AB InBev used the category growth to underline a broader strategic push into alcohol-free and low-alcohol products. The company said non-alcoholic beer is moving beyond its former niche status and is becoming a regular part of beer assortments. It linked the trend to changing consumer habits, saying drinkers increasingly want more variety and products that fit different moments and occasions.

In its statement, the brewer said years of investment in brewing methods and dealcoholization technology had helped widen the range of non-alcoholic beer available to Dutch consumers. It pointed to products including Corona Cero, Hertog Jan 0.0% and Leffe 0.0%, and said it had also introduced Stella Artois 0.0% and Tripel Karmeliet 0.4% to the Dutch market.

The company’s release focused in particular on Corona Cero, saying the brand had grown by more than 40% in the Netherlands. But the public material did not set out the detailed timeframe, comparison base or underlying dataset for that figure. As a result, the claim offers a sign of strong brand momentum as presented by the company, while leaving open important questions about how the increase was measured.

Even with those limitations, the supermarket data suggests that alcohol-free beer is taking a larger share of consumer attention in a core retail channel. Volume growth matters because it captures changes in the amount sold, rather than movements in prices or product mix. In practical terms, it means more alcohol-free beer is being bought off supermarket shelves, regardless of whether prices rose or fell.

That matters for brewers and retailers because supermarket performance can shape shelf space, product range and future launches. If demand continues to rise, chains may devote more room to alcohol-free beers, and brewers may step up spending on new products, packaging and marketing in the segment. A sustained increase in volume can also encourage companies to treat alcohol-free beer as a standard part of their portfolio rather than a peripheral offering.

The public data released so far does not show which brands or styles accounted for the biggest part of the category increase, and it does not say whether growth was evenly spread across premium lagers, specialty beers or other subsegments. It also does not show whether the rise came from more frequent purchases, a larger buyer base or changes in seasonal demand. Those details would require fuller disclosure from the underlying market research.

Still, the message from the November 6 releases was clear. In Dutch supermarkets, non-alcoholic beer is selling in higher volumes than it did earlier in the year, and major brewers are treating that trend as evidence that the segment is becoming a more established part of the country’s beer market.