Heineken has warned it will increase the prices of its beers to accommodate for soaring inflation rates.
The world’s second-largest brewer has yet to confirm how much their prices will go up by, and has expected to see “softer beer consumption” as drinkers hold off on spending.
“These kind of price increases and inflation, I think we have not seen in a generation,” Heineken’s chief executive officer Dolf van den Brink said.
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The news comes as Office National Statistics has confirmed inflation rates have a 30-year high of 5.5%, with food and drink prices rising by 4.3%.
This in turn has seen real wages fall behind inflation as well as higher energy bills and national insurance tax hike in April.
The cost-of-living crisis has no end in sight with the Bank of England expecting inflation to climb to 7% this year.
Heineken has confirmed its input costs were set to rise by the mid-teens percentage due to barley prices doubling compared to last year and aluminium prices going up by approximately 50%.
Additional rising costs for transport and energy costs have also hit the brewing company.
The news comes as Marmite-maker Unilever, Greggs and Pret a Manger have all reported price rises due to rising production costs.
However, Heineken has also experienced a strong year as consumers increased drinking habits over the pandemic.
Sales of Heineken-branded beer rose by 17.4% and the brewer’s profits rose by 80% despite fears of inflation.
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