Spain: Craft beer category booming in Spain

The craft beer category in Spain has experienced strong development in the last few years. In 2015, the nation’s craft beer production grew by 70 per cent by volume compared to the year before and almost tripled compared to 2013, ESM reported on June 30.

This is according to figures from the Observatorio Sectorial DBK (Grupo Cesce), which also indicate that sales increased proportionately, with 73 per cent more in 2015 than in 2014, reaching a total of €73 million, according to revistainforetail.com.

Regarding the amount of brewers, numbers have also multiplied: from 50 registered craft beer companies in 2010, to 445 in May of 2016. The report points out that most of this companies are micro-enterprises with one, two or three workers.

The companies' capital is mostly sourced from the Spanish private sector. However, a spokesperson from the real estate group stated that "in the last few years there is a growing interest in participating in the sector, from the large beer brands as well as from other companies in the food and drinks industry and investment societies."

The report suggests that "given the recent creation of most companies, a big part of them is developing investment plans with the goal of increasing production." Their growing interest in exporting is another relevant trend, with destinations such as China, Japan, South East Asia, United States and Scandinavian countries as the most coveted.

30 June, 2016