Figures released by NielsenIQ last week prove it: alcohol-free is on the rise.
Last week, the Distilled Spirits Council's DISCUS 2021 conference was attended by the heads of Fever Tree (creator of high-end cocktail supplements) and Lyre's (the non-alcoholic spirits brand now valued at more than $100 million). As part of the discussion, Kim Coast, account development at NielsenIQ, shared the latest trends in the USA No/Low market.
Sales of these beverages have increased by more than 10% in the last 12 months, now accounting for more than $3 billion in revenue. Of these, fully alcohol-free drinks have seen a sales increase of over 33%. On the Internet, sales of non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic drinks have increased by 315% over the last 12 months, while sales of their alcoholic counterparts have only increased by 26%.
In France, the marketing research company Yougov has published the results of its study on the French and aperitifs. This study, carried out among more than 1,000 people, paints an interesting picture: while at national level, the French remain particularly attached to the consumption of alcohol during aperitifs (89% say they consume it during aperitifs), many people have decided to turn to non-alcoholic alternatives (41% of the French people questioned say they do not consume alcohol). And this trend is even more pronounced among the youngest, where 69% of them say they are used to drinking alcohol-free drinks.
Moreover, in the top drinks consumed as an aperitif, non-alcoholic cocktails are the drink of choice for aperitifs for 12% of the French people questioned. The craze for these non-alcoholic cocktails has in fact evolved a lot with the appearance of non-alcoholic spirits, as Kraig Rovensky, manager of Life On Mars in Seattle, has noticed, who, after having been sceptical, now offers several mocktails on his menu.
Non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks are expected to be the next boom in the drinks sector. The ISWR has predicted that consumption of these drinks will increase by 34% by 2024 in 10 target markets such as Australia, Germany and France.