Forecourts could be feeling the effect of Britons shunning alcohol for alternative drinks – and not just during Dry January.
According to a study, almost four in 10 drinkers, 38%, are now consuming low- and no-alcohol alternatives regularly or occasionally, up from 29% in 2022, as the UK is drinking more moderately than ever.
The trend, shunning less healthy lifestyles, is largely being driven by younger adults, who are most likely to embrace sobriety throughout the year, according to a YouGov survey, commissioned by alcohol industry regulator the Portman Group.
It found that close to half, 46%, of 25- to 34-year-olds surveyed considered themselves either an occasional or regular drinker of alcohol alternatives.
Almost three in 10, 29%, of adults who choose these drinks cite ‘health and medical’ concerns as a key reason for opting for an alternative to alcohol, in the poll of 2,081.
The growing popularity of non-alcoholic spirits, wines, and beers does present an opportunity for the trade.
Oliver Blake, managing director of Oasis Services, says that alcohol-free beers and wines are up 56% from last year at his family’s forecourt in Long Riston, near Hull. “Guinness 0.0 is flying. This will be partly down to the worldwide shortage of Guinness in the past month,” he says.
Peroni 0.0% is the top seller in lager for the business, witht Nozeco leading in wine.
With the firm’s alcohol sales down 12% in January, compared with the year before, Blake has found that having a dedicated display of alcohol-free in the chiller has been effective in encouraging sales, and he believes that forecourt operators should now back Dry January.
“I believe people have been more aware of what they are consuming, and are switching to zero.
“Dry January is something we should get behind as it provides a growth area in the beer, wine and spirits category which is currently stagnant for us.”
David Charman, managing director of Parkfoot Spar in West Malling, Kent, has also been finding that customers are turning away from alcohol. “Alcohol sales have been a challenge for the past 12 months,” he says. “Price increases, maybe due to Brexit, plus the cost of living crisis, has meant we are running about 5% down compared to previous years. This January, has seen a slump of over 10% over last year.
Premium wines are bucking this trend, however, for the BP forecourt, as Charman says customers are becoming more discerning and are regarding wine as a weekly rather than everyday treat.
“I think more and more customers are considering their health and wellbeing so perhaps this is no surprise,” he says,
Meanwhile, forecourt operator Goran Raven, of Raven’s Budgens Abridge, says that while take-up of alcohol-free was lower than he had hoped for Dry January last year, he is stocking a standard range of alcohol-free including zero versions of Heineken, Thatchers, Guinness and Peroni.
