Greene King has seen sales of low and no alcohol drinks soar in Dry/Try January with draught alcohol-free sales up +238% across it’s 1,600 Greene King managed pubs.
The pub group has been extending its low and no ranges across all drinks categories – draught and packaged beers, alcohol-free cocktails, wines and spirits – with low and no beers topping the sales charts. Three out of the five top-selling packaged beer and cider brands were alcohol-free lager and the volume share of alcohol-free cocktails has grown 4.9% vs 2023.
Danny Ayton, Greene King’s drinks category director said, “This January we have seen the continuing demand for great quality low and no drinks.”
He continued, “Draught and packaged beers are leading the way and there are exciting new products emerging too. Acting on customer feedback and insights is helping us meet the demand for this innovative and fast-growing category. It’s been good to see our activations and campaigns in January have showcased these drinks to attract people into our pubs in a traditionally quiet month.”
Recent research by Greene King found 20% of Gen Z don’t drink alcohol and a third of those surveyed believe that UK drinking culture is more inclusive for non-alcohol drinkers compared to five years ago. It found people are moderating their alcohol intake throughout the year, not just in January.
The British Beer and Pub Association’s latest report on the category shows that the industry has adapted to changing habits, with more than 425,000 bulk barrels of no and low alcoholic beer, equivalent to 120 million pints, were sold in 2023. This is up 14% on 2022, when more than 370,000 bulk barrels were sold.