Middle East: Non-alcoholic beer consumption exploding in the Middle East

Beer drinking is exploding in the Middle East, with Iranians drinking non-alcoholic beer four times as much in 2012 as in 2007, Your Middle East reported on October 10.

Although people in the Middle East still drink more beer with than without alcohol, consumers in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have a growing appetite for the halal version of the beverage.

According to The Economist, 2.2 billion litres of non-alcoholic beer was sold globally, an increase of 80% in five years. The Middle East accounted for more than a third of the total consumption.

“More recent sales growth is the result of growing consumer aspirations,” Maii Abdul-Rahmen, an analyst at the research firm Euromonitor said.

Guilda Saber, brand manager of Laziza, a Lebanese non-alcoholic beer, said drinking beer, even if it is non-alcoholic, “taps into a popular desire for a globalised lifestyle that neither fruit juice nor even Coca-Cola can offer”.

Fatwas from leading clerics in Egypt and Saudi Arabia have declared it allowed for Muslims to drink non-alcoholic beer.

11 October, 2013