Roisin O’Sullivan, Madrid Office, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

The potential of the craft beer category in Spain remains strong and the industry is experiencing a very positive drive. This becomes very clear when examining the number of events, launches and new projects that arise around this category.

According to a recent Alimarket article - The figures for the upcoming first edition of the “Barcelona Beer Challenge” event confirm this momentum. 500 different beers have registered for the contest from 143 different brands, of which 44% are foreign beers from 15 different countries. The organization confirms that “the number of inscriptions has exceeded all expectations". The major international representation is a great indicator that the industry is experiencing strong growth. Italy is the country with the highest number of breweries represented in the event (26.42%) followed by Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Scotland, France, Ireland, Portugal, among others. As for the origin of the domestic beers, Catalonia is the pioneer, with a total of 90 breweries (42.53%) represented in the event. All communities are present except Extremadura and the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The data collected during the registration process confirms that 143 micro-brewers are less than 5 years old which confirms the emerging nature of the sector in Spain. The Barcelona Beer Challenge (BBC) will be held on March 6, 2016 in Barcelona, and it’s an initiative of the company Beer Events.

Santa Cerveza’s Journey

Santa Cerveza has recently launched their website www.santacerveza.com, specializing in craft beers. The XV Martius society, based in Santander and promoted by the Gaspar Gómez brothers, has launched this on-line shop with a total of 54 references, of which only 6 of them are foreign. The growth potential of the category in Spain and in the rest of Europe, led the company to undertake this new business. The company’s goal for the first year of activity is to market 80,000 bottles.

According to the School of Industrial Organization, the craft beer category was expected to grow by 33% in 2015. The evolution of the number of micro-breweries documented in the General Health Register were 314 in 2014 compared to the 70 that the country had in 2011. Bord Bia Madrid will continue to look for opportunities in this growing sector.

For more information please contact rosin.osullivan@bordbia.ie