Strong growth in Norway's Best Beverage

Interest in Norwegian drinks is increasing. We can clearly see this in this year's registration for Norway's Best Drink 2026. A total of 353 products have been entered into the competition. This is an increase of over 22 percent from last year. The number of producers is also increasing. This year, 98 producers are participating, up from 81 in 2025. This shows that Norway's Best Drink is becoming increasingly important as a meeting place and quality measurement for Norwegian beverage production.

Cider and beer drive growth

The biggest increase is in the beer category. The number of beers in the competition has almost tripled, from 13 to 36 products.

– This year we have focused on recruiting more breweries and more Norwegian beer for Norway's Best Drink. We have done this by involving Norwegian malteries and using their criteria as a starting point for registration. This means that the beer must contain at least 50 percent Norwegian malt to participate in the competition, says project manager Erling Kristensen in HANEN.

Pages are also growing rapidly. The number of registered pages has increased from 77 to 116 products. That's a growth of over 50 percent.

At the same time, several other categories are growing:

• Apple juice: 96 products (+12%)
• Ice sides: 15 products (+36%)
• Fruit wine: 22 products (+10%)
• Aquavit: 32 products (+18%)

This shows a clear development in Norwegian beverage production, where both traditional and new categories are strengthening.

Apple-based drinks dominate

Apples still play a very important role in Norwegian drinks.

Ciders, apple juice and ice ciders together account for over 220 products in this year's competition. This makes apple-based drinks by far the largest part of Norway's Best Drink.

This reflects developments in Norwegian beverage production in recent years. More producers are focusing on fruit-based beverages, and especially ciders.

The decline in non-alcoholic beverages is technical

The number of products in the non-alcoholic beverage category may at first glance appear to be decreasing. The explanation is that non-alcoholic ciders and non-alcoholic beer are now registered in their respective categories. In total, 13 non-alcoholic ciders and 2 non-alcoholic beers have been moved from the non-alcoholic category. The real interest in non-alcoholic beverages is therefore stable.

A growing competition

The figures show that Norway's Best Drink continues to grow.

More producers are participating, more products are being entered, and the breadth of Norwegian beverage production is growing.

The competition thus provides an increasingly clear picture of developments in Norwegian drinking culture.