The scissors between the price of beer in the pub and beer at home are still opening. The pandemic and related “garage parties” as well as the current rapid inflation are accelerating the opening.
Czechs are increasingly drinking alcohol at home. This trend has been supported by pandemics and related “garage parties” at the time of the closure of gastronomic establishments and is now supported by rapid inflation. However, it is also supported by the ever-growing difference between the price of draft beer and the price of beer in shops, ie beer for domestic consumption, for example at “garage parties”.
According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, the average price of bottled beer has increased relatively slightly over the last ten years, from 10 crowns to 11.30 crowns.
Beer in the bar costs three times as much as in the store
But while ten years ago it was possible to buy beer in a pub or restaurant for twice its price in the store, ie for around twenty crowns, today beer in pubs in the Czech Republic is sold for prices most often in the range of 30 to 60 crowns. This means that instead of only double the price, beer in a pub or restaurant now has a price at least about three times the price of beer in the store.
The opening of scissors between beer in a pub and beer in a shop has been going on since 1990. At the time of the fall of communism, beer in a pub cost about the same as beer in a shop. People much more clearly than today preferred draft beer in a pub that most Czechs like more.
Much more common than today was the phenomenon of going to a beer pub with a mug before 1990. In the last more than thirty years, however the price attractiveness of draft beer is decliningin addition, thanks to better technological procedures, the taste properties of bottled beer sold in shops are improved.
This year’s rapid inflation in the Czech Republicthe most pronounced since the 1990s, the sleepy trend will strengthen. Beer in a pub or restaurant will have to be more expensive than beer in a store, including beer from the e-shop. This is because general inflation, ie rising energy prices, rents, wages, etc., is more reflected in the price of beer in the pub than in beer from trade.
Prazdroj follows the Staropramen and Budvar breweries. The price of beer on the tap, for a crown on a pint
Bad news for brewers. Inflation has already found its way into pubs and bars. Plzeňský Prazdroj has also recently announced an increase in the price of draft beer. From April, the taproom will sell it for a crown on a pint of food. It remains to be seen how much the brewers will pay. Prazdroj thus follows the example of the Staropramen and Budvar breweries, which have risen in price before under the pressure of rising costs.
Gastronomy is facing a difficult year. Restaurants still lack staff
Hospitality is one of the most pandemic business sectors affected. The gastro scene has been affected in recent months by both government preventive restrictions against the spread of coronavirus and staff depletion. Currently, gastronomy operators are also facing rising food prices. A year full of challenges awaits domestic restaurants this year as well, they will mainly struggle with a shortage of manpower.
Yes, we will have to raise prices. Everyone has to get more expensive, says Mattoni boss Alessandro Pasquale
“You’ll wake up this morning and find that you don’t have a third of your business,” Mattoni 1873 chief Alessandro Pasquale responds to questions about the pandemic. The market leader in mineral waters and other non-alcoholic beverages has managed, thanks to which he has excellent results even in pandemic times. And he even expanded his activities in Austria and Slovakia.
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