Heineken increases market share in Ireland despite weaker lager sales

SALES volumes of the Heineken lager brand fell by 6.8% in Ireland last year, according to latest figures from the Dutch brewing giant.

The company said its Cork operations, which include Murphy’s and Beamish, still increased market share. It added that despite its sales drop, the Heineken lager brand actually outperformed the market.

While Heineken’s sales rose10% in western Europe, its Irish performance was hindered because “the severe effect of the recession meant beer consumption declined by high single digits”, it said.