The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on 3 November 2026 that production of sugary soft drinks in Germany fell to 7.42 billion litres in 2025. This represents a decrease of 4.1 per cent compared with 2024, when just under 7.74 billion litres were produced. In 2025, production amounted to around 89 litres per person, compared with just under 93 litres per person the previous year.
Destatis places this development in the context of a changing production profile in the sector: while sugary cola, lemonade and other soft drinks declined, production of low-calorie diet drinks and mineral, table and medicinal water rose over the same period compared with 2024. The figures now published are annual totals drawn from official industrial production statistics.
The statement explicitly describes production trends and makes no claims about consumption. Changes in output can be due to several factors, including adjustments to manufacturers’ product ranges and shifts in demand. Destatis does not attribute the changes to any particular cause in its release; that would require further market and consumer analysis.
Politically, this shift in supply comes at a time when the of the Federal Government, published on the same day. They show both increased participation in the is planning to introduce a levy on sugary drinks. No final legislative decision had been made by the date the Destatis figures were published. The official production data therefore provide an up-to-date picture of the structure of Germany’s drinks industry in 2025, but do not allow conclusions to be drawn about the possible effects of future fiscal measures.
The clearly dated comparison figures are central to interpreting the data: the decreases are measured against 2024, while the per-person figures use the population in 2025 and 2024 respectively. The reported values are consistent and fit the broader picture of rising production of diet drinks and mineral water alongside falling production of sugary soft drinks.
This provides a reliable, up-to-date official statistical baseline for the ongoing debate about the direction of product ranges in the drinks industry and the federal government’s public health policy options.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).