Market Report Beverages 2025 – Trends, Valuations & M&A

The (Non-)Alcoholic Beverages market showed a mixed and generally flat performance over the past five years, with only modest value creation across the category. While the MSCI World Index increased by approximately 78%, the composite beverages index achieved just 7.1% growth (weighted: 9.2%), and the global Food & Beverage sector declined by –1.9%. This reflects the highly diverse dynamics in the beverages landscape, where strong global brands maintain stability, but overall volume growth is under pressure due to rising costs and shifting consumer preferences toward healthier alternatives.

Valuations within alcoholic beverages remain robust. The selected peer group — ranging from global brewers to premium spirits producers — trades at median multiples of 3.0× EV/Sales, 9.3× EV/EBITDA, and 12.7× EV/EBIT. These levels are supported by scale, global distribution and strong brand equity. In contrast, specialised or smaller producers face margin pressure from higher input costs. Within non-alcoholic beverages, valuations are similarly resilient, with median multiples of 2.6× Sales, 12.5× EBITDA and 14.9× EBIT, driven by the strength of global players such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and high-growth premium categories including energy drinks and bottled water.

Performance dispersion is significant. In alcoholic beverages, median revenue growth is limited to 0.5%, with Carlsberg standing out due to double-digit growth linked to price increases and its acquisition of Britvic. In non-alcoholic beverages, growth is considerably higher, with a median of 5.3% and major outliers such as Primo Brands (16.5% CAGR) and Nongfu Spring (15.3% CAGR). Margins mirror this divergence: premium spirits and functional drinks companies generate 25–42% EBITDA margins, while traditional soft drink and beer producers typically operate between 15–20%. Premium positioning, brand strength and pricing power remain key differentiators.

Several structural growth drivers continue to accelerate. Health has shifted from a niche focus to a mainstream expectation, driving demand for sugar-free, low-calorie, functional and plant-based drinks. The “NoLo” movement — reduced or zero alcohol — is expanding rapidly, supported by wellness-driven lifestyles. Meanwhile, global flavours and cultural diversity influence consumer behaviour, and functional beverages benefit from rising interest in performance, hydration, and wellbeing. These trends reinforce category premiumisation and support long-term strategic value.

In M&A, the European food market has shown stable to rising activity between 2022 and 2025, with quarterly deal volumes typically ranging from 180–220 transactions and Q4 consistently being a peak period. Despite higher financing costs, activity remained strong in 2024–2025, with several landmark transactions shaping the sector — including Carlsberg’s €4 billion acquisition of Britvic, Keurig Dr Pepper’s €15.7 billion bid for JDE Peet’s, and Royal Unibrew’s €300 million acquisition of Vrumona. Portfolio optimisation, international expansion, innovation and scale are the dominant themes behind deal rationale in the (Non-)Alcoholic Beverages category.

For producers, investors and strategic buyers, this report offers clear benchmarks on valuations, margins, growth profiles and transaction dynamics across the beverages landscape.

Would you like full analyses, transaction overviews, current valuation multiples and sector-specific insights?
View the full (Non-)Alcoholic Beverages Market Report Q4 2025 (in Dutch) here.

Related Transactions

Our experience within (Non-)Alcoholic Beverages is reflected in the following deal that aligns with the themes of this market report:

• G’nger (part of 2050Foods) acquires Van Kempen Fruitsappen