The Brussels beverage sector embraces teatime

Despite Brexit, England remains one of Belgium’s main trading partners for the food and beverage industry, along with France, the Netherlands and Germany. hub.brussels therefore took four Brussels companies to the Imbibe trade show in London, to give the post-Brexit beverage market a fresh look and drink in the latest trends in the sector. And the evidence clearly shows that in terms of Brussels exports, drinks no longer (necessarily) mean hops. Let us explain!

Bottled or canned, still or sparkling, amber, translucent or glittery: the glass dome of London’s Olympia Exhibition Centre seemed to serve as a giant container for thousands of litres of drinks of all origins on 4 July.

Brussels stands out

The Brussels stand was enthroned in the middle of this drinks gathering, sober and elegant as it showed off its new black & white city marketing style.

“It’s great to be grouped together under the same banner, it gives us great visibility,” explains Harry Verhoeven, Sales Manager at Botaniets. “All the more so as the reputation of the Brussels brand precedes us, in that it’s a guarantee of quality.”

Alongside Botaniets, we also find worthy representatives of our national flag, this time organic: Pierrick Couvreur and Jean Van den Broeck from Drink Drink! took advantage of the low-cost infrastructure offered by hub.brussels to come and take the pulse of the British market. 

It’s great to talk to the English, who enjoy and brew the same type of beers as we do. We’ll start by carving out a place for ourselves in the organic market in Belgium, where the competition is fierce, and then see what we can plan across the Channel.

Nolo (no & low alcohol): a place available

On the other side of the stand was L’Annexe. However, it is not its beers but its lemonades that the Brussels brewery-fermentery decided to present at the show. “Imbibe is more focused on strong spirits. So we thought it wiser to offer our soft drinks as mixers,” explains co-founder Maxim-Henri Lagrillière.

As mixers, but actually more than that. The low-alcohol and zero-alcohol sector is playing an increasing role in the global beverage market. International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR) recorded a 20% increase in this type of beverage between 2017 and 2018, and a 30.5% increase between 2018 and 2019. This is due to consumers who are more concerned about their health, a trend further reinforced by the health crisis.

Once you’ve eaten well, it’s time to drink well too!

 Alexandre Hauben, CEO and founder of (Bota)Niets, Belgium’s first alcohol-free distillery, said, “There’s eating well, wellness and now drinking well.”

His talented mixologist Boupinh Lam, who attended the show, confirms his CEO’s words, “Imbibe is proof that the non-alcoholic market is gaining momentum and will continue to grow. Competition is much stronger in the alcoholic sector than in the non-alcoholic sector, so there is a place for us. London is home to the world’s greatest bars. The greatest bartenders are here. Many people have already visited our stand, and they have all been won over by the quality and finesse of our products.“

This statement was validated by the presence of the prestigious Marriott on the list of potential buyers, as well as Oliver Robinson, CEO of Irish brewery Robinsons, “These guys have technique, they offer something different, with natural, sophisticated products. That is of great interest to me, because low-alcohol or alcohol-free bases are starting to take off, and I’d like to adapt my offer in my pubs to account for this.“