Everything is becoming more expensive and you also need a big wallet for an evening in the pub. Prices keep rising and the time when you paid less than three euros for your beer is behind us. But not in Uden. Because at café De Nachtegaal, prices will go down from 1 January. “We went to look across the border,” says owner Anke Wijdeven.
At the café in Uden they have been serving Heineken beer for thirty years, but that beer brewer has already raised prices twice this year. When Heineken announced that another significant price increase was in the pipeline after the turn of the year, now of more than ten percent, they saw no other way out than to switch to another brand.
In the end, the choice fell on the German beer ‘Zachte Premium’. “Brewed in Allersheim,” says Anke. “It’s not the most famous brand, but it was the best beer in terms of price-quality. And it has almost the same aftertaste as Heineken.”
Although they have to pay import duties of 9 percent on drinks from abroad, the beer is still a lot cheaper. And as a result, the customers of De Nachtegaal will pay a lot less from next year. “A beer now costs 2.75 euros with us, but that will soon be 2.25 euros,” says Anke. That’s a fifty cents difference. “Compared to what it costs at other cafes in the new year, we are almost a euro difference.”
“If we have to pass all that on to the customer, you pay 3.45 for a beer.”
“It’s not just the price of the beer, but also energy prices and wage increases,” explains Anke. “If we have to pass all that on to the customer, a simple night out becomes a luxury. Then you pay 3.45 for a beer.”
Anke and her husband Johan went looking for another beer brand, but they got no further in the Netherlands. That is why they went to look in Belgium and Germany. “We first researched the types of beer and their prices at the breweries. Then we went looking for catering establishments that have this on tap. And we did several tastings.”
“The hospitality industry must remain affordable and I think we will succeed in that.”
The café has no agreements with beer brewers, which makes it easy to switch to another brand. This does not apply to every café, because they often rent premises from a brewery. Still, Anke hopes that more catering entrepreneurs will follow. “I think it’s important that people can continue to go out, because social contacts are very important. The hospitality industry must remain affordable and I think we will succeed in that.”
From 31 December at midnight, the pub in Uden will serve the new, cheaper beer. It remains to be seen whether customers will taste the difference. “We have already told them and they are very curious about the quality,” says Anke. “As far as the price reduction is concerned, they are certainly very enthusiastic.”