Time for insights - September 2026
Welcome to your monthly dose of on-trade insights !
At Fyre, we help outlets & brands navigate the HORECA world with more clarity, confidence, and.... data.
Cheers !
ON THE MENU THIS MONTH :
Insight of the month: In the UK, lager is strengthening is lead
HORECA Market Trends & News
Interactive Report: World Cup 2026
What’s new at Fyre? Meet FLAM: the AI assistant designed for restaurant owners
INSIGHT OF THE MONTH
In the UK, lager is strengthening its lead
Within the Beers & Ciders category, Pilsner & Other Lagers gained 4.8 percentage points in revenue share year-on-year, reaching 54.8% of total category revenue.
At the same time, cider gained +1 point and non-alcoholic beer +0.5 point, while ales (-1.7 pts) and dark beers (-0.8 pt) lost ground.
👉 A clear signal: in the UK on-trade, lager isn’t just maintaining its lead — it continues to strengthen its position within the beer & cider mix.
Source: Fyre MarketPulse – UK On-Trade. Comparable panel of 7,027 outlets, 12 January–12 July 2026 vs. the equivalent period in 2025.
MARKET TRENDS & HORECA NEWS
Gen Z is reshaping consumption habits
Less alcohol, greater focus on wellbeing and new drinking occasions: 20% of Gen Z consumers aged 18–29 say they don’t drink alcohol, while 34% of Gen Z alcohol consumers drink only once a week.
But moderation doesn’t mean less experimentation: no/low, canned cocktails, international flavours and new occasions such as the “daycap” are reshaping expectations.
Source : Beverage Daily - Sept. 2026
Wellness, plant-based, premium: beverage innovation diversifies
The latest product launches highlight several strong market dynamics, from functional drinks and plant-based alternatives to RTDs and premium spirits.
In the UK, the functional shots market has now surpassed £105 million, with an average annual growth rate of 47% over the past three years.
👉 Beverage innovation is increasingly driven by functionality, convenience, flavour and added value.
Alcohol-free beer is reshaping Germany's brewing market
In Germany, alcohol-free beer production has more than doubled in ten years, rising from 329 million litres in 2015 to around 700 million litres in 2025.
At the same time, overall alcoholic beer production is declining, highlighting a more structural shift in drinking habits within one of Europe’s largest beer markets.
👉 Another sign that moderation is gradually reshaping the traditional beverage mix.
Could high-protein drinks be the next horeca opportunity?
In the Netherlands, protein-enriched products have become increasingly mainstream in retail, expanding into drinks, coffees and even lemonades. Yet the trend remains far less visible in horeca.
Horecava sees a clear opportunity for operators and brands to bring these products into out-of-home occasions, extending consumption habits that are already well established at home.
👉 After functional drinks, high-protein beverages could become a new innovation territory for the on-trade.
INTERACTIVE REPORT
World Cup 2026
What really happened in the on-trade during the 2026 World Cup?
Fyre analysed 124 million transactions across more than 30,000 outlets in France, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands to uncover the competition’s impact on drinking behaviour.
Sales, categories, brands, outlet types, consumption occasions, prices… explore the data and navigate through the insights yourself with our new interactive web app.
👉 Discover the World Cup Drinking Report 2026 and explore the data for yourself.
WHAT'S NEW AT FYRE ?
Meet FLAM: the AI assistant designed for restaurant owners
What if restaurant owners could simply ask questions about their business — and get instant answers based on their own till data and local market performance?
That’s exactly what FLAM, Fyre’s new AI assistant for hospitality venues, does. Menu performance, worst-selling products, pricing gaps, local trends… FLAM turns complex POS data into simple, actionable recommendations, directly through WhatsApp or any other platform.
No dashboard. No report. Just a conversation.
👉 For brands, FLAM creates a new way to support restaurant customers every day — under your own brand — combining market intelligence with portfolio recommendations, activations and orders, while reducing the need for frequent field visits.
TIME FOR INSIGHTS
That was your monthly shot of on-trade insights!
See you next month for another toast of inspiration.
Time for Insights
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