Beverages importers and distributors in Europe
For owners & export directors at food producers
Pick your country below. Each guide names the buyers who source beverages there.
IN SHORT
Beverages importers and distributors in Europe are the companies that resell beverages. They include beverage distributors & importers, retail category buyers and HoReCa wholesalers. Typical products are juices & waters, soft drinks, beer & cider and functional drinks. Buyers and suppliers meet at BrauBeviale in Nuremberg and Anuga in Cologne. We publish buyer guides for Germany and Sweden. HoReCa means hotels, restaurants and catering.
How to find beverages importers and distributors in Europe
Beverages importers and distributors in Europe buy beverages to resell. They are not one kind of company. The buyer groups are beverage distributors & importers, retail category buyers and HoReCa wholesalers. HoReCa means hotels, restaurants and catering. Typical products are juices & waters, soft drinks, beer & cider and functional drinks.
Buyers and suppliers meet at BrauBeviale in Nuremberg and Anuga in Cologne. A fair runs for a few days, once a year or less. You can reach the same buyers all year instead. What a buyer checks first is not the same in every country. Certificates, labels and pack sizes change with the market. The 2 country guides below name the buyers and what they want. We publish a country page only when we know that trade well. You approve every company before we write to anyone.
WHO BUYS BEVERAGES
The buyer types for beverages
Each group buys for a different reason. Choosing the wrong one is the most common reason a first export try fails.
Beverage distributors & importers
Wholesalers who place drinks in shops, bars and restaurants.
Retail category buyers
The people who choose the drinks range at chains and discounters.
HoReCa wholesalers
Wholesalers who supply bars, restaurants and canteens.
Typical products: juices & waters · soft drinks · beer & cider · functional drinks
Trade fairs: BrauBeviale (Nuremberg) · Anuga (Cologne)
GUIDES
Beverages markets we cover
Each guide names the buyers, what they check before a listing, and how the trade is organised.
Germany — Beverages buyers
Germany moves drinks in a way almost no other country does. Beverage specialist wholesalers (Getränkefachgroßhandel) feed both the drinks-market shelf and the bars and restaurants. Deposit and reusable-bottle rules decide who can play at all.
Sweden — Beverages buyers
Sweden has two hard gates on drinks, and both come before any buyer meeting. Cans and plastic bottles may only be sold once they are registered in the national deposit system. Anything stronger than mid-strength beer may only be sold by the state alcohol shop.
Your country is not listed for beverages?
That does not mean no. A guide goes live only when we know that trade well. We open new markets and categories all the time. Ask us, and you will get a straight answer about whether we can help.
Ready to meet Europe's beverages buyers?
Book a 30-minute Discovery Call. We look at your products and your buyers. If we can’t help, we’ll say so.
Book a Discovery CallFixed fee — no commission · First meetings 2–3 weeks after we start writing · Min. 10 meetings guaranteedReviewed by the ProspectX export team, led by founder Casper Morawski (LinkedIn) · Last reviewed August 2026.