238% up
The times they are a-changing! Greene King, one of the UK's largest pub operators, has recently shared some eye-opening figures about customer drinking habits with The Morning Advertiser. Numbers like these paint an undeniable picture of how low/no is being embraced in mainstream British drinking culture.
The pub chain saw their draught alcohol-free beer sales skyrocket by a whopping 238% this January compared to the same time last year. But before you put that all down to the country's upsurge in Dry January participation, the numbers show that this cultural shift is far more than a temporary trend (told you so!).
What are we drinking?
Draught options like Estrella Galicia 0.0%*, Lucky Saint 0.5%*, and Heineken 0.0%* topped the popularity charts, showing that pub-goers are after that authentic draught experience, just without the alcohol content.
For those who prefer bottles and cans, alcohol-free options now make up over 30% of all packaged beer and cider sales - quite the shift from the lonely bottle of Beck's Blue gathering dust on the bottom shelf of the bar fridge!
Greene King's category director Danny Ayton said,
"This January, we have seen the continuing demand for great quality low and no drinks. The pub is where people want to meet up with friends, family and work colleagues, whatever the occasion and time of day."
And he's got a point. The pub will always hold a central role in the community, and rightly so. The coming together of friends and family over good food, good conversation, and good drinks need not change just because the ABV of the drinks that accompany those occasions is reduced.
Adaptation is key!
Inclusive drinks, inclusive drinking
The numbers also suggest that younger generations are driving much of this change in the on-trade, with a reported 20% of Gen Z not drinking alcohol at all but still enjoying a night out. And a third of those surveyed feel the UK's drinking culture has become more inclusive for non-drinkers compared to five years ago.
This shift isn't just affecting beer sales either. Alcohol-free cocktail sales within the chain are gaining momentum, too, growing by 4.9% compared to 2023.
This is likely, at least in part, due to Greene King's collaboration with Made in Chelsea's Spencer Matthews and his award-winning AF spirit brand CleanCo* to expand their alcohol-free cocktail menu, proving that "mocktails" are moving well beyond simple fruit juice combinations.
The British Beer & Pub Association backs up these findings, reporting over 425,000 bulk barrels of low and no-alcohol beer was sold in 2023 - that's a lot of pints!
What does this mean for us? Simply put, heading to the pub for a drink no longer has to mean choosing between alcohol, tap water or yet another lime & soda. The options are expanding, and they're actually worth drinking.
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