Carlsberg has outperformed its brewing rivals during the Fifa World Cup as the progress of several European teams supported beer sales in its key markets.

Morgan Stanley described the Danish brewer as the tournament’s “positive surprise”, with the performances of England, France, Switzerland and Norway helping to sustain demand.

However, the investment bank lowered its forecast for the competition’s uplift to full-year global beer sales from 24 basis points to 17 basis points.

It attributed the weaker-than-expected result to the early exits of teams including Brazil, Germany and Colombia, alongside underperformance in the US.

Although several European nations progressed further in the tournament, Morgan Stanley said those countries represented smaller beer markets and were unable to offset the lost volumes from bigger markets.

AB InBev’s anticipated sales boost was also lower than expected after Brazil was knocked out of the competition.

Ready-to-drink sales jump in US

The tournament nevertheless drove demand across parts of the US drinks market as consumers gathered to watch matches at home.

Circana data showed sales of pre-mixed cocktails jumped 25.4 per cent during the first full week of the competition, while non-alcoholic beer case sales increased 10.9 per cent.

Energy drink unit sales rose 10 per cent over the same period, compared with growth of just 2.2 per cent for domestic beer.

Before the tournament began, 66 per cent of US fans told Circana they planned to watch matches at home, while 24 per cent expected to watch with friends or relatives outside their household.

Circana global executive vice-president and chief adviser Sally Lyons Wyatt said shoppers were seeking convenient ways to create an at-home viewing experience, spanning drinks, snacks, prepared food and hosting essentials.

The data company said households had made repeat purchases across the tournament instead of relying on a single large shopping trip.

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