Diageo, Heineken and Stonegate have all increased beer prices for pub customers so far this year.
In January, Heineken announced it would be increasing the price of draught beer for the on-trade by 2.97%, duty exclusive, for all deliveries from Saturday 1 February 2025.
The global brewer asserted it had made “considerable efforts” to “reduce the impact of inflation” for customers, but changes to Government legislation this year would result in “significant cost increases” for the firm.
Increased costs
Meanwhile in March, Diageo announced the price of some Guinness Draught products would increase by 4.2% for on-trade customers, effective from Thursday 1 May 2025.
The increase applied to Guinness Draught in keg, microdraught and Guinness Surger. Guinness 0.0 and Guinness Draught in can format were not impacted.
A Diageo spokesperson said: “We have informed our on-trade customers of a Cost Price Increase (CPI) on Guinness Draught products.
“Guinness is a high-quality beer that is a significant footfall generator for hospitality, and this CPI ensures we can sustain investment levels in, and continue to grow, the Guinness brand.”
Stonegate, the UK’s largest pubco, has also been hit by ongoing economic headwinds, upping beer prices by 4% for its Pub Partners at the end of last month.
Ongoing challenges
The company said the price hike, which came into effect on all deliveries from Friday 2 May, was part of its 2025 selling prices review.
Other products also saw increases. The weighted average duty inclusive selling price of cider rose by 8.2% while wine and spirits saw a 6.9% and 6.6% uptick respectively.
Stonegate attributed the decision to a backdrop of “considerable economic uncertainty” both domestically and internationally.
As a result, the pubco asserted the cost of producing and distributing drinks has continued to rise, making the price hikes “necessary”.
A spokesman for Stonegate told The Morning Advertiser (The MA): “This increase reflects the significant inflationary pressures and ongoing challenges faced by our sector, as well as our ongoing commitment to partner with our publicans to enable them to continue to play a vital role in the communities they serve.”
