Key takeaways

The beverage manufacturing market comprises businesses that produce beverages, including soft drinks, water, juices and spirits. This research excludes breweries and wineries, which will be covered in a different market report. As such, we segmented the European market into: (i) generalists, (ii) soft drinks and water, (iii) juices and (iv) spirits.


The European market is relatively fragmented, with numerous international players and a long tail of local champions with limited international presence. Although the industry is characterised by high entry barriers (e.g. CAPEX and scale requirements), we have recently witnessed the emergence of innovative “start-up like” setups focusing on novel products such as low/no-alcohol and functional drinks (interview by Gain.pro). These small players will likely get acquired by established players in their quest for innovation and scale.


Sponsor-led interest has been limited, with only ~25% of identified assets being backed by a financial sponsor (September 2022). We see declining EU consumption of soft drinks and juices and limited cash generative capacity due to CAPEX requirements as two of the main drivers deterring investor-led interest. Positive aspects can be found in the market’s non-cyclical nature and potential for buy-and-build plays. Additionally, the market comprises several fast-growing niches, such as no-/low-alcohol and functional beverages. Both listed alcoholic beverages manufacturers and their soft drinks peers trade at ~14.0x EBITDA (February 2022). An expert interviewed by Gain.pro indicated that spirits manufacturers typically are valued at >15x EBITDA in a deal setting.


ESG topics primarily relate to potential environmental and social issues. The industry’s impact on climate change is significant due to energy-intensive manufacturing processes and carbon-heavy logistics due to the voluminous nature of beverages. Players increasingly opt for sustainable packaging to offset some of their CO2 emissions. The safety of incumbents’ products serves as the main potential social issue, with consumers and retailers increasingly demanding greater transparency in terms of the entire value chain and raw materials used (e.g. sweeteners). Additionally, distilleries have a responsibility to promote moderate alcohol consumption.

Company benchmarking

Market growth

Statista (June 2022) estimates that the European soft drinks market generated ~€128.4bn in sales throughout 2021, forecasting the market to grow at 5.8% YoY from 2022-2026

Statista (June 2022) estimates the European carbonated soft drinks market will reach ~€78.1bn in sales by 2026 (+4.3% CAGR 2021-2026), while Technavio (February 2022) expects the European functional beverages market to reach ~$29.1bn by 2026 (+8.3% CAGR 2022-2026)

Local experts interviewed by Gain.pro expect the European spirits market to grow at low-to-medium single-digit YoY growth rates

Positive drivers

An ongoing premiumisation trend has been accelerated by COVID-19 as consumers gained more disposable income. This means that consumers opt for more premium, higher quality beverages which typically allow for more attractive price mark-ups (interview by Gain.pro; Britvic, December 2021)

D2C sales are gaining traction as logistics operations are maturing on the back of the pandemic. D2C sales translate into higher profitability ratios and enable access to more consumer data, allowing for improved brand building and new revenue models (e.g. subscriptions; Beverage Industry, May 2022; Brand Finance, June 2021)

Emergence of fast-growing, novel markets, such as no-/low-alcohol and functional beverages, with limited cannibalisation of current product segments as these new niches target different consumption moments and consumers (e.g. sports fanatics, gamers; interviews by Gain.pro)

Negative drivers

Rising expenses on multiple fronts due to inflationary effects (e.g. gas & electricity prices, raw materials) that cannot be fully passed on to consumers, thereby pressuring bottom-line margins in the short term (interviews by Gain.pro; Campari Group, February 2022)

Widespread shortages affecting the supply of raw materials and packaging (e.g. plastic resin for bottles), as well as the availability of sufficient logistics capacity. This combination creates uncertainty about increasing supply-demand gaps and limits growth opportunities (interview by Gain.pro; The Food Institute, January 2022; Campari Group, February 2022)

Continuous threat of regulatory and geopolitical changes, such as the potential implementation of a sugar tax in the EU (Food Navigator, March 2022) or sudden increases in US import tariffs on EU spirits (interview by Gain.pro; Forbes, July 2020; Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, January 2022)

Read the full report on Gain.pro

Beverage manufacturing industry.

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An in-depth look into 99 private companies, incl. financials, ownership details and more.

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ESG assessments with highlighted ESG outperformers

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Beverage manufacturing

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Beverage manufacturing

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