Beer consumption in Poland during the World Cup 2010 in South Africa increased significantly, beating vodka consumption 3 to 1.

Although Poland’s national team did not even qualify for the World Cup, this did not discourage Poles from celebrating and spending their money at pubs, bars and alcohol shops. According to the Market Monitoring Centre, sales of beer in during the World Cup rose by 18 percent and potato chips by 21 percent.

Beer took a clear lead over the traditional Polish tipple - vodka. Sales of the amber nectar were three times higher than that of vodka. In the final week of the World Cup, sales of vodka made up just 26 percent of total sales of alcoholic beverages, while beer scored 74 percent – a ratio of 3 to 1.

In 2009, the ratio was respectively 31 percent to 69 percent.

Over 8.5 million Poles watched the Spain-Netherlands final. The average value of beer purchase on that day was 7.18 zloty (1.8 euro), which is 13 percent more than usual in summer, while the average value of potato chips purchase increased by 15 percent. At the end of the World Cup football fans preferred to buy big 85-gramme packets rather than the small ones – a wise choice as the final went into extra time. (mg/pg)

Source: Puls Biznesu