Boom in canned drinks: Alcohol-free options are flying off the shelves in Germany

Demand for alcohol-free canned drinks is booming in Germany. According to recent data from market research firm NIQ, the total sales volume has jumped 47 percent over the past five years, reaching more than one million metric tons. “They’re especially popular with younger consumers and getting plenty of hype on social media,” notes NIQ consumer expert Petra Ossendorf, referring to the “newfound love affair with cans”. Many brands have even added canned versions to their product lines to keep up with consumer demand.

The figures cover sales in grocery stores, drugstores, beverage wholesalers, and gas stations, and include soft drinks such as colas, lemonades, energy drinks, juice spritzers, and iced teas.

The rising popularity of canned soft drinks is also evident in the numbers: between February 2020 and February 2025, revenue rose by an impressive 66 percent to €3.23 billion. A key driver of this growth is energy drinks, which now account for more than 70 percent of all canned soft drink sales. 

Ossendorf explains that cans aren’t just convenient and great for on-the-go refreshment, they also offer an attractive alternative to PET bottles with attached caps, which many consumers find frustrating.

Despite environmental concerns over the high energy use involved in producing aluminum, the perception has shifted. Cans are increasingly seen as a more sustainable choice, thanks to their recyclability and lower long-term impact.

The introduction of a can deposit in 2003 caused sales to drop sharply. But after a standardized deposit system was rolled out in 2006, they began to recover and have been rising ever since.