Speaking to The Morning Advertiser (The MA), Asahi UK Dhati Holohan sales director for UK & Ireland explained rising costs and changes to Government legislation had continued to put pressure on the global brewer.
Pointing to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) challenges, rising production and labour costs as well as increases to alcohol duty, Holohan said there was “only so much [Asahi] will be able to absorb”.
“The cost profile of our business is increasing”, she said. “We see where inflation is and how much duty has increased; there will be costs that will need to be passed on.”
Mitigating costs
However, the sales director assured the company, which owns a number of brands including Meantime, Peroni, Grolsch, Cornish Orchards and Fuller’s Brewery, would mitigate rising costs as much as possible through efficiencies.
While Holohan could not give an exact timeframe for the price hikes, she said increases to duty, which are set to rise in line with inflation from February 2026, would “absolutely be passed on”.
She continued: “We see how tough it is out there for outlets. The on-trade is incredibly important, not just as part of the fabric of our community, but it’s also really important from a British business doing well perspective.
“Our focus is very much around how we support the on-trade and publicans. Our brands play a big role in being able to offset and combat a lot of what’s going on out there.”
Quality experiences
Holohan explained Asahi would be supporting operators next year by investing in brands, customers and quality experiences for consumers.
“One in three beers in the UK is not a quality pint and that’s down to the pressure outlets are under with staff turnover and rising costs on everything from business rates through to electricity and gas”, she added.
“We’re driving footfall and rate of sale in outlets by bringing quality experiences to the on-trade.
“Consumers aren’t going out as much, but when they go out, they want that experience to really be worth it.”
