Jan Krafka of Prazdroj: Czechs drink beer differently, avoid cash

The new commercial director of Pilsner Prazdroj, Jan Krafka, is convinced that despite a record drop in beer consumption in Czechia — to 121 litres per person a year, the lowest figure in history — the country's beer culture will not disappear, but will simply change under the influence of digitalisation.

Krafka is a native of Pilsen who started out at Prazdroj as an intern while still at university. Almost twenty years later, this spring, he took up one of the key posts at the Czech Republic's largest brewing company. Before that, he spent four years running the business of parent group Asahi in Germany and Austria.

According to him, the downward trend in beer consumption cannot be reversed either in Czechia or in Germany, but there is no reason to panic. “We are not Nokia, which simply vanished when the digital world arrived. We have to adapt”, says Krafka, who is betting on digitalising the hospitality sector, which has so far remained largely untouched by technology.

One of the main problems, in his view, is that pubs and restaurants are largely absent from social media. More than 70% of establishments have a Facebook page, but fewer than a third are on Instagram, and even fewer on TikTok. Without a digital presence, young people simply won't find out about a venue and won't come.

The second focus is cashless payments. Krafka cites his own experience in London, where he didn't need cash pounds once in a week, and some venues refused to accept them at all. According to his data, around 70% of consumers already prefer cashless payment, and restaurateurs who don't offer it lose revenue before a single order is even placed.

This is why Prazdroj has worked with the Qerko app for many years and plans to strengthen its digital focus through Piano Group — a platform offering digital solutions for the hospitality industry, in which the brewing group itself holds a minority stake.