【North Rhine-】Veltins Acquires Karamalz – Malt Beverage Market in Motion

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Editor’s Note

This acquisition by Veltins positions it for direct competition with Krombacher in the malt beverage market, potentially intensifying rivalry and choice for consumers.

Brand in New Hands

Veltins has acquired the Karamalz brand and will produce the malt drink in its own brewery in the Hochsauerland district. This move could, according to expert assessment, lead to more competition in the malt beverage market.

Krombacher acquired Vitamalz years ago, and now rival Veltins is following suit with the purchase of the Karamalz brand: The two major breweries from North Rhine-Westphalia are now engaged in a head-to-head race in the malt beverage segment. According to market researchers, young families are among the consumers of malt beverages, also simply called “Malz.” Meanwhile, the seller of the Karamalz brand, the Eichbaum brewery in Mannheim, is fighting for survival.

What does the acquisition mean for the market?

The new constellation could bring momentum to the beverage segment – to the benefit of consumers.

“Competition is certainly going to pick up speed now,” says Niklas Other, publisher of the beverage industry trade magazine “Inside.”

As he describes, Krombacher “painstakingly bought the licenses for Vitamalz from a whole series of breweries a few years ago.”

“The only serious competitor, Karamalz, is falling into the hands of Krombacher’s perhaps toughest competitor, Veltins,” says Other.

Together, the two malt beverage brands Karamalz and Vitamalz, each with nearly 200,000 hectoliters, account for more than half of the total malt beverage market in grocery retail, beverage stores, and gastronomy.

“We are convinced that in this clearly defined product segment we can certainly achieve growth impulses,” announces Volker Kuhl, spokesperson for Veltins management.

A few weeks after acquiring the brand rights, Veltins has now also begun production of Karamalz. Starting in the new year, retail and gastronomy in the Hochsauerlandkreis will be supplied from Meschede.

According to Other, the overall malt beverage segment is far from the sales levels of earlier days.

“However, in larger retail outlets it remains a mandatory item,” emphasizes the industry expert.

Are prices rising as with beer?

Some major beer producers have raised their prices. What about the malt beverage segment?

“Yes, analogous to the beer market, prices are also rising here,” says Marcus Strobl, beverage expert at the market research company NIQ.

According to Veltins’ observations, the total market for malt beverages recorded slight sales declines in recent years,

“while revenue could be kept relatively stable through price increases.”

What are the target groups?

Children and older people are the main consumers of malt beverages, according to Other’s assessment. Strobl sees it similarly:

“These are usually households with children.”

According to an analysis by the market researcher, even more households in the 30 to 50 age group purchase malt beverages than beer.

Both Karamalz and Vitamalz emphasize that they are non-alcoholic beverages with 0.0% alcohol content.

How popular are malt beverages?

Compared to beer, malt beverages represent a small niche for the German brewing industry overall. In supermarkets and beverage stores, the market share nationwide is only 1.1% according to NIQ data. Regionally, the share can be higher or lower.

Breweries do not refer to it as malt beer, but as malt beverage, malt drink, or simply “Malz.” Sugar is usually added, and thus it no longer complies with the purity law, as one of the major suppliers explains.

Where are the roots of Karamalz?

The history of the Karamalz brand began 70 years ago. It started with the non-alcoholic product “Henninger Karamell-Kraftbier” from the Henninger brewery in Frankfurt am Main. Three years later, the name was shortened and registered as the brand name Karamalz. According to Veltins, the brand belonged to the März Group via the Henninger brewery in the 1990s and then passed into the possession of Actris AG. The brand has been managed by the associated and later independent Eichbaum brewery since 2001.

What about the previous owner?

The seller of the Karamalz brand, the Eichbaum brewery in Mannheim with around 300 employees, is to be restructured under self-administered insolvency proceedings. Eichbaum primarily got into difficulties due to sales declines in its Russia business, lawyer and preliminary administrator Thomas Oberle announced in early November. The sale price for the traditional brand Karamalz was not disclosed by the contracting parties.

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⏰ Published on: December 17, 2025