Consumers are turning away from beer: looking to trendier options such as canned cocktails or forgoing alcohol entirely. Heineken has warned 2026 will be a difficult year: consumer spending is unstable and global inflationary pressures continue.
Against this backdrop, CEO Dolf van den Brink has announced he’ll step down from his role in May.
So how can Heineken beat the beer blues? New brews, and beverages that go beyond beer, are part of the company’s strategy for getting ahead over the next four years. Heineken has already invested €45m ($53m) in a new R&D lab in Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands, which opened its doors last year. And this is where the brews of the future will be developed.
Equipped with the state-of-the-art facility’s capabilities (which hones in on areas such as fermentation science and flavor research) the R&D team takes consumer research and turns that into the next big brews.
And it is doing that by embracing five key areas.
1) Embrace beer’s natural strengths
Beer has been loved for centuries: and was brewed long before the food industry turned to artificial flavors, colors, sugar and ultra-processed foods.
Now, in 2026, artificial ingredients are under attack; while sugary RTDs aren’t to everyone’s taste.
Beer, in contrast, is brewed from simple, natural ingredients: barley, hops, yeast and water.
“We have to realize that beer has some wonderful assets: natural ingredients and a natural process,” said Hubert Te Braake, director of R&D at Heineken.
Drawing on those credentials will be an important strategy moving forward, he said.
2) Use AI to change the game
AI is changing the game across food and beverages. And that’s also the case in the beer industry.
The strongest use case is before the beer even starts brewing. AI can help shift through consumer research and identify what trends are being played out on mass. And AI can help product developers shift through models, recipes and ideas to find the most promising ones.
“AI helps us take sources from everywhere and actually use those insights,” said Te Braake.
But there remains an important balance between AI and craftsmanship. “AI will change the way we think about processes, and the way we approach NPD, but it remains a fundamentally natural process,” he said.
Beyond beer: What will the next generation of Heineken brews look like?
Heineken's EverGreen 2030 strategy (launched in 2021) sets out the company's plans to focus on premiumization, led by brand Heineken, and a portfolio of global and local brands.
But it is also innovating beyond that: expanding beer into non-alcoholic, flavored and less bitter variants, and exploring beyond beer with cider and other refreshing alcohol offers such as RTDs.
"This will ensure our portfolio evolves to meet new and changing consumer needs and captures new growth opportunities," says Heineken.
In the last few years, the company has invested in brands such as Tenzing natural energy and Ellie Goulding’s RTD brand Served .
3) Boosting alcohol-free
Heineken launched Heineken 0.0 in 2017. It wasn’t the first alcohol-free brew on the market by far, but it represented one of the earliest efforts by a major brewer to take alcohol-free into the mainstream under the flagship of a major brew.
Heineken 0.0 is now the world’s top alcohol-free brew. For Te Braake, this success has been depended on two critical factors. First, there’s the technology the company developed: Heineken 0.0 is double brewed with all natural ingredients and then the alcohol is removed through vacuum distillation.
But secondly, it was about changing attitudes around alcohol-free beer. For decades, they’d been considered the sole domain of drivers and pregnant women. How could Heineken go about changing that and launching as a credible mass market product?
“That’s the complexity of new products,” said Te Braake. “People think it’s just a product: but it’s the whole proposition that determines whether it’s a success or not.”
Alcohol-free products have now expanded across Heineken’s wider portfolio: and will continue to be a core part of its strategy moving forward.
4) New innovations
Heineken is known for classic pale lager, first brewed in 1873 and known throughout the world. Positioned as a premium brew, the brand is still in growth and the cornerstone of the company’s portfolio.
But Heineken knows it has to innovate beyond that. As a seasoned professional, Te Braake is keeping shtum on the projects currently in the R&D lab: but recent innovations show the direction of travel.
Take, for example, Heineken 0.0 Ultimate: which is now being piloted in the test states of Massachusetts and New Jersey.
This ‘triple zero beer’ is zero alcohol, zero calories and zero sugar: with ‘fruity notes, balanced with a slight hoppy aroma and very subtle malty body, all perfected for a light and refreshing taste.’
Alcohol-free beer already wins points with consumers for minimal calorie counts, but Heineken is exploring the calorie free zone with the new innovation (Suntory, meanwhile, has made a similar move with Suntory All-Free: a alcohol-free, zero calorie and zero sugar launch).
Meanwhile, Heineken Fusion is making its debut in Italy: designed as a premium drink for elevated occasions with water, barley malt, fruit juice, juniper and citrus flavors and hop extract.
The 6% ABV innovation is in a pilot phase in 70 bars in Italy: where it is served in a stemmed glass like a spritz.
5) Rethinking the supply chain
Climate change is putting pressure on commodities. Sourcing of key raw materials is becoming increasingly challenging: and is a huge risk factor for the future.
That means thinking about where core ingredients are sourced from, and alternative origins. That might mean exploring different varieties or growing regions, or even turning to alternative grains
