Drinks without and with a low percentage of alcohol are increasingly popular, the study shows
As the New Year marks the start of the so-called Dry January movement, a recent study shows that non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks are gaining popularity, especially among millennials.
While some people may have been motivated by the Surgeon General’s January 3 advice linking alcohol consumption with an increased risk of cancer, findings from the IWSR’s low- and low-alcohol strategic study suggest that the trend has been growing internationally since 2019, particularly with non-alcoholic beer.
IWSR bills itself as a “leading global provider of beverage data and insights” based in London.
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Susie Goldspink, head of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverage insights at IWSR, told Fox News Digital that “non-alcoholic beverages are outperforming low-alcohol beverages, in some ways across the board.”
Beer is the most famous category among them non-traditional drinks, she said.
Interest in non-alcoholic beer has grown significantly since 2019, according to a data analyst. (iStock)
“And it’s really made leaps and bounds in terms of the taste and the quality of the product and just the kind of social acceptance of drinking non-alcoholic beer,” she said.
The study found that consumers of alcohol-free products will increase by 61 million compared to 38 million low-alcohol consumers between 2022 and 2024 in 10 key countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, South Africa, Great Britain and the United States of America.
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Soft drink sales are expected to grow by $4 billion by 2028 — while soft drink volumes will remain largely unchanged, according to the study.
“Some of the challenges low-alcohol products face is confusion about ABV [alcohol by volume] and whether you’re actually getting less alcohol with this drink,” Goldspink said.
In contrast, she said, “with alcohol-free, you know what it says on the label [container]. And you know that if you’re trying to avoid alcohol or drink alcohol in moderation, this product will be right for you.”
Know the difference between low and soft drinks
How much alcohol is there in low-alcohol offers and is there absolutely zero alcohol in soft drinks?
Before trying low- or no-alcohol products, it’s important to understand the differences between them, experts say.
Derek Brown, a Washington, DC-based mixologist and author of “Mindful Mixology: A Comprehensive Guide to No- and Low-Alcohol Cocktails,” told Fox News Digital that adult beverage market it may be a “muddy world,” but he offered a simple explanation.
A low alcohol content is about half the amount of a traditional malt liquor, while a still is defined as 0.5% ABV, Brown said.
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“People should know that it’s 0.5 percent if, legally on the label, it says alcohol-free,” Brown said.
“Now, if it says alcohol-free, that means there’s no trace alcohol. So that’s 0.0.”
With improved quality comes greater demand
Although these non-traditional drinks have gained increasing interest in recent years, they still make up only about 3% of the total beverage market, Goldspink said.
Older generations have shown resistance to consuming low- or no-alcohol products, but as these beverages become more available and plentiful, the barriers surrounding the drinks are diminishing with the younger generation of consumers, Goldspink said.
“I think the stigma is coming down quickly,” Goldspink said.
A group of friends toasts with various beers, wines and cocktails. (iStock)
There was a time, Brown said, when drinks like this just weren’t good.
“Bartenders of the past – I’m sorry, you let people down with your drinks,” Brown admitted. “They weren’t good, and some of them were because you made them on the spot with a little grenadine and a little pineapple juice. That’s not good non-alcoholic cocktail.”
However, times have changed, Brown said.
“There are really great mocktails out there and now there are bartenders who are doing great [drinks]” Brown said. “Some of the best bartenders in the country, honestly, do this. We’re talking about Restaurants with Michelin stars. We’re talking about the best bars in the country doing it.”
“There are really great mocktails out there and now there are bartenders who are doing great [drinks]”, said one expert. (iStock)
One example of improved quality is the “innovative” methods used by some beverage manufacturers. Brown noted that Oregon-based Wilderton is the first alcohol-free distillery in the US
“So they’re distilling the product the same way you would any high-quality spirit,” he said. “And they built a distillery for that. It’s not cheap.”
Drinks can cost as much or more than traditional alcohol
The high-quality low-alcohol and non-alcohol drinks produced these days bring a cost to the consumer.
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“I think initially there was some resistance to the pricing and the fact that the price is pretty much the same as the price of alcohol,” Goldspink said.
But continued efforts to create appealing low- and non-alcoholic cocktails, spirits and worts should encourage any cocktail drinker who isn’t thinking about whether these offerings are worth the price tag.
Many low- and non-alcoholic beverages cost as much or more than their traditional alcohol-based beer, cocktail, and wine counterparts. (iStock)
“People are price conscious these days. I am too. So I understand that,” Brown said.
“But I want people to know that they absolutely put quality and effort into these. And, in some cases, they’re more expensive than alcohol. Is it a scam? I think it depends on the beholder.”
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Brown argued that these low- and no-alcohol producers “have to move on.”
He sees these products as another option, not a substitute for beer, spirits and wine.
“They need to do more than spirits and wines with alcohol,” he said.
Ultimately, Brown said, there is no threat to traditional alcohol, which he believes will continue to have a place on store shelves for years to come.
He sees products with low and non-alcoholic content as another option, not a substitute for beer and spirits and wine.
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“There are still bad products out there, just like sometimes there are bad cocktails,” Brown said.
“The fact is, just because you taste one thing and don’t like it — you can’t throw away the whole category.”
