The 'Dry January' movement has initiated a wider health and wellness trend among consumers across the world and is paving way for new opportunities for alcoholic beverage producers, a new study has found.
According to IWSR's latest research, the low and no-alcohol sector is poorly served, with few clear category leaders.
Overall Marketplace
Though projected to grow significantly, at present, the overall marketplace for low and no-alcohol products remains small in most parts of the world.
In the UK, the category represents just 1.3% of the country’s total alcoholic beverage market with 61% of respondents saying that they have not yet
considered drinking low or no-alcohol products.
In the US, the segment has just a 0.5% market share, where more than 70% of consumers have not considered drinking this category of beverages yet.
However, the study also indicates that consumers are actively looking to reduce their alcohol consumption, and if the beverages meet taste expectations, the notion of low and no-alcohol beverages will gain support from customers.
A Promising Category
At a time when low-alcohol beer volumes are declining, the demand for non-alcoholic beer has been found to be on the rise, according to the study.
In Germany, 60% of respondents reported that they have, or would consider, drinking low and no-alcohol products.
According to the study, low and no-alcohol spirits are predicted to grow by 14.4% by 2022 in Germany. Ready-to-drink products in the category are forecasted to increase by 13.3%, and cider is set to rise 11.4%.
Low and no-alcohol sparkling wine will show a growth of 4% in the country, while beer will grow by 1.6%.
Spain emerged as one of Europe’s largest and most well-established low and no-alcohol drinks markets, particularly in the beer and mixed drinks segments.
The study found that 95% of Spanish consumers are trying to reduce their alcohol intake, and 80% of people have considered or would consider low- and no-alcohol products.
Other Findings
The study shows that the off-trade channels offer more selection of low and no-alcohol products than bars and restaurants, across all markets.
Bartenders' attitudes towards low and no-alcohol products were found to vary across markets.
Most bars and restaurants around the world that were surveyed by the IWSR for this study offered non-alcohol beer, while non-alcoholic wine was notably absent.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
