The numbers tell a clear story. Beer sales in the Netherlands dropped 3.4 percent in 2024 compared to the year before, according to the Association of Dutch Brewers.

And that decline continued into 2025. At the same time, alcohol-free beer is quietly surging — sales of alcohol-free pilsner climbed 13 percent, while speciality alcohol-free beer jumped by 27 percent. Add to this the fact that nearly 40 Dutch breweries have shut down over the past two years, and the pressure on the industry becomes hard to ignore.



Breweries Pivot to New Products
Amsterdam-based Oedipus Brewing, now under Heineken's ownership since 2023, is one of the more prominent examples of this pivot. The brewery, known for fan-favorite beers like Mannenliefde and Gaia, has launched a soft drink line called Club Canette and is actively working to grow its distribution. According to Oedipus director Frederik van Droffelaar, this move isn't a sign of desperation.

"We do not have to do this because things are going badly, but we are working on the future," he said.

Beer market analyst Francois Sonneville has been watching this shift unfold over decades. He points out that about 25 years ago, the same large breweries were doing the opposite — shedding non-core businesses to double down on beer and push into emerging markets.

That strategy worked well for a long time. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, beer consumption fell sharply, .